The Journey of a Mother's Heart

Taylor to you Four is so much more!

2011-12-07T07:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Taylor!!! Today you turn 4 and you know it, you have been counting downs the days till you did, showing me on your little fingers how old you are and then adding your one little finger to say you will now be four!!! Taylor I love you so much and you are the funniest little thing. I love how you can always make me smile. I love how every morning the first words out of your mouth are "I'm hungry"! and then you ask "you know what my dream about". I was flipping through pictures and videos today and you were ALWAYS smiling or laughing and that has not changed a bit! You are such a smart little thing and pick up on things so quickly. You are VERY strong-willed, some can see that as a bad thing but I know that with God on your dad and I side He will guide us to help steer that strong-will to be an amazing thing! Taylor you are such an amazing boy and your dad,Caleb and I are so blessed with you in it!!! I love you sweet boy and look forward to this next year of so many more milestones!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!!!

Turning six never looked so sweet!!!

2011-10-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

WOW! Six years! I am still in shock thinking that my sweet lil man is turning six. As much as I am looking forward to the man you will become, I am in love with you are today! There are days I miss holding you in my arms but then you come wrap your arms around me. There are days I miss kissing you sweet head but then you come and kiss mine. I love you stolen kisses I give at night. You are one of the bravest boys I know just like your daddy. I love that your daddy is your hero and that you love your Lord! Caleb you look at the world and wonder what you can make of it. You have such a sweet, compassionate and giving spirt. There are days you take time to teach Taylor things....and there are days you don't =) but that is ok. You are such an amazing big brother and God knew that you would be. You inspire me so much! I love how open you are with me most days like when you told me about your first kiss on the cheek...then I think I messed up by telling everyone at the dinner table...sorry =( Caleb I hope you have a wonderful six birthday and can not wait to see how you grow in the next year!!! Your daddy, Taylor and I love you very much!!!

2 months old

Standing at 2 months!!! Determination!!!

about 2 weeks old

his first birthday!

Caleb picked a pumpkin for his little brother, who was still in my tummy!!!

about 8 months

His 2 year picture!

best friends!

love how his arms reach the top of his tiny head!

The adventures of Caleb and Taylor

2011-08-23T07:52:00.000-05:00

Down the stairs came Caleb and Taylor carrying their backpacks. Daddy asked "Where are yall going". To their response was "We are going to church". Nana then said "Well do you have your bibles?" So they quickly raced up the stairs to get them and told everyone bye then said "We are headed to church". After a couple of minutes the adults decided it might be a good idea to go and check on the boys. When they looked outside they saw Caleb pulling on knobs, twisting things and looking under the hood of the lawnmower. Taylor ran in and said in his cute little voice "There are no keys in the mower!" So Pop so kindly said "Well there are keys in my truck". Taylor got the most excited look on his face and said "Oh I've got to tell Caleb!" then ran out the door yelling "CALEB THERE ARE KEYS IN POP'S TRUCK!!!"

These two have quite alot of adventures together and I can't wait to see what else they will have!! Oh and on a side note the boys did not make it to the church =)

The first of many... =)

2011-08-10T07:41:00.001-05:00

Last week my little man you started your first day of kindergarten and as much as I wanted to be sad(even though I really, really was!!) I could not help but smile because you just amaze me with all you take on. A good friend the other day said that you face the world with all you have and that is so true! You have no fear but have such great wisdom for a 5 year old and you make such good choices! You ran to your class without any fear but were perceptive enough to know to look back and give your mom the biggest hug around her neck so that she knew you would be ok and she needed that more than you will ever know! I pray that you know God is always with you and pray for Him to help you make good choices as you start this new journey of your life. Your dad, Taylor and I love you with all that we have but we know God loves you so much more. Love you big boy!!


Caleb and his sweet teacher!

Us with our little man!!

One HUGE milestone!!!

2011-08-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated the 100^th birthday of my great granny!! That is a HUGE milestone in anyone’s life. My granny is an amazing woman and has gone through so much in her life. She was one of I think I remember right 10 kids. Also her mother’s sister died when she was real young and brought in her kids so there was a bunch. She has had a rough but wonderful life. She has dementia, so she really does not remember too many people but she is still as feisty as ever and I love that about her, kind of think that may be where I get some of mine from J She has raised 5 amazing kids, one being my grandma who is my inspiration. My grandma goes to see her mom almost every day at the nursing home, even though she does not always remember her, just so she can spend time with her. I just love that! She had a pretty good time at her party but I must say toward the end she was done and kept telling us to get out of her house, even told me she would get a switch after me. All I could do was smile. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful granny! Happy 100^th Birthday Granny!!!!

A thankful kind of Thursday

2011-07-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

Ok I cheated a bit, I saw a Thankful Thursday on another post but I loved the idea! So lately I have been a little discouraged and a bit on the down side...boys close your eyes but some of it I think has to do with that umm time of the month. Anywho I thought I actually needed this, to jot down some things that I am thankful for so that I remind myself that it is really not that bad I just need to flip my idea of things sometimes :)

1. The other day I posted on FB that I do not know what the future hold but I am so encouraged to know that God knows and I just need to be a bit more patient and just wait! Sometimes that is so hard for my fleshly(don't know if that is a word, if not I so just made it one) little brain not to want to take control but in Matthew He talks about not being worried about tomorrow and in Philippians He says for us not to be anxious. Joshua actually has been teaching our Sunday School class about Moses and how things were just not the right time for the Israelites to be freed from slavery and the simple answer was wait. I just need to be encouraged in knowing that things sometimes do not need to be rushed, He will place us where He needs us in His time!!!

2. I get to start a new job next week............I get to stay home with my boys again, I get to drive Caleb to and from some place he is going to get an education(I don't like the other word right now =) ). I feel so blessed that we are to a place right now that I can do this. I am blessed to have a hubby that supports me doing this and works tremendously hard so that I can do this. I am just over the moon!!!

3. I have been so thankful for friends that God has placed in my life to help lift me when I am down and just to give me a hug when it is just the right time!!! During a recent trip one of the girls gave us the name SIC's! Sisters In Christ and it is so fitting!!! I have another that just moved from our hometown of Fl. to MS. so we have said we are now Mississippi sister's, ha love it! I have in the past year have realized just how important having wonderful friends are not just having contacts but having a connection. Family is always a blessings but sometimes we just need that smile from a friend and that is all we need. I have been told by a couple of wonderful mentors that if you have at least one good friend in your life you are blessed but if you have more than one you are truly blessed and to hold on to them. Being a friend takes work but the blessings are worth so much more!! Love and joy can change a person!

4. I am thankful that next week I get to go see my grandparents and my great granny who will be celebrating her 100th birthday!!! Yep I wrote that right 100!!! How amazing! I am looking forward to helping set up and just seeing my family. I miss my grandparents so much!!!

5. My hubby has to put up with alot from me and I am thankful that God has chosen for us to spend the rest of our lives together. He is an amazing man that takes care of me, encourages me, LOVES me, is a Godly father to our boys, a man I hope my boys inspire to be and though we have had a "different" past couple of years gives everything he has.

6. I have been so blessed to have the job I have now. I have worked with some amazing people and have met a ton more. I have a boss that is so easy to talk to and is so understanding. Though this is not what I wanted to be doing these past 2 years, God has taught me so much and has aloud me to grow in ways that I know would not have been able to happen if I did not have this job.

Sometimes it is so easy to be discontent with things in your life but how much more rewarding is it when you allow your heart to be thankful, there is so much more I am thankful for but these are on my mind right now, what things are you thankful for?

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ~~Colossians 2:6-7

Ramblings for your Wednesday afternoon

2011-07-06T08:18:00.001-05:00

Did you all have a wonderful 4^th of July, we had a great weekend and holiday! Here are just a few ramblings of things that have happened in the past few weeks.

-We had our VBS about 2 weeks ago. Our theme for this year was “The Race”, done in like a Nascar theme. We had the best time, Josh and I did the music this year and had a blast with the kids. We have such an amazing staff that can come up with some wonderful ideas. Our old children’s pastor, youth pastor and pastor all helped with coming up with the lessons for each night. Scott (our youth pastor) well God has just blessed him with such an amazing artistic ability, he build our set for VBS each year and it looks so good! We had 3 children give their lives to Christ that week!! Amen!

-Yesterday marked the day the boys and I were driving from Florida to Mississippi, Josh and his dad had already made the trip the day before. I just think how encouraging it is to see how far God has taken us. We have been through some really rough patches over the past 2 years but He has shown us so much and has allowed us to grow in ways I don’t think would have happened if we had not made this move. We are still praying for some things…like a house J but if there is one thing we have learned is that God has a plan and things will happen when they are suppose to happen and we just need faith to trust that!

-Last week I got to put in my notice for work and I am beyond the moon. Here is one example that God answers prayers and when He speaks He has a plan. In that blog is where I felt God was saying it was time to come back home with the boys but it was not quite time yet. And now things have worked out so that I can, things will be tight but it is so worth it to be able to be home with the boys and do what I feel I was made to do. I can’t wait to spend the day with Taylor and to drive Caleb to and from school. That is still a hard one for me to swallow, Caleb and school but I think I am getting a bit better with it…ok not really but let’s pretend to help me feel a bit better J

-The boys went to see Cars 2 with one of their buddies Nikolas, and they all had the best time. It was a pretty funny movie, not as good as first but still cute. At one point Taylor asked when the movie was going to start and Nikolas said “when you see cars, then the movie has started”. Oh the logic of kids

-We went to a friend’s house yesterday and had a cookout. They made ribs, pasta salad, potato casserole, roasted corn and a cake but there was also watermelon, pie that I made and cucumbers, you would have thought we were feeding an army but it was so yummy! We went swimming, the boys jumped on the trampoline…I did not try that one too many people there to watch. And then we headed out to see the fireworks. We had such a great time, the boys did not want the day to end. I feel so blessed to have this family in our lives right now. Beverly has become such a wonderful friend to me these past few months. One thing that I have learned recently is that God puts people in your life just when you need them, some are there for a season or two and some are there for a lifetime. I think this is one of those lifetime ones J

-I am really starting to believe Caleb may become a preacher one day. As we were on our way out to see the fireworks the boys were talking about sins, God and Jesus. Well Taylor asked why Jesus died and Caleb told him for our sins, that is when Taylor asked what sins were so we explained that one. Then Caleb said that Jesus died so we would go to heaven and see Him. Taylor then said that he did not want to go to heaven yet, Caleb said you do want to go to heaven, not right now but you do or you will go to the devil and you DO NOT want to go there J Josh and I just grinned and Taylor just said Oh…!

-I almost forgot on Saturday we, and when I say we I mean Josh’s dad and Josh, set up the redneck slip n slide. We had some friends over and went to slipin and slidin and had the best time. Last year Taylor was not too sure but this year he was all about it and even climb the hill that the slide is on. This slide will bring out the kid in everyone! Well I hope you had a great 4^th of July weekend and I pray you have a joyous week!!

just love cute little boys in goggles!

Taylor was not happy about this

Go out and change the world

2011-06-23T09:04:00.001-05:00

Well I think I am about recuperated from last week! I had the privilege of going with our youth as a chaperon for their mission trip this year in Moberly, MO! And boy did I have a wonderful time! I always love going on these kinds of trips cause I always feel like I get more out of the trip than they do J We have such a special youth group here, I miss my one back at home but now most of them are becoming such wonderful adults!

We left early Sunday morning, had a blast on the bus, those boys sure can make the time go by fast. We mainly just got settled in on Sunday. Monday we got our assignments, I was in the group called Bone Crushers. Now that is a cool name, our other group was the Roller Kings…but we kinda changed it to the Roller Queens…complete with a song. You know the song “Dancing Queen” well we changed it to “Roller Queens”. Yeah I know kinda mean but yet so funny! At our site we were to bust up the top layer of Ms. Mary’s front porch and to hang new ceiling tiles in her basement. Ms. Mary was a sweet older lady who knew about her Savior and was so thankful we were there. For me I knew we were there to help Ms. Mary but I also believe we were there for a greater purpose. There was a family of next door and they had 3 kids, two girls and a boy. When we first got there the older little girl, Kirsten, would come out and just kinda look to see what we were up too. Scott (our youth leader) started to ask a few questions to see where her heart was. Come to find out her family was Catholic but she said that she really did not follow that religion, she said she believed that she did not have to got through someone to talk to her God, she could do it herself! Man that was so refreshing to hear.

As we were passing out tracts in the neighborhood Kirsten’s little brother Brayden asked if he could come along and we told him sure. He knew a lot of people in the neighborhood so he would tell us who was home and would walk up to the door with us and introduce us to them. Made it a bit easier. Some of our group actually got to pray with a couple of people but there was one house where when one of our group youth leaders, Madelynne, asked if she could pray for the lady the lady turned to her and said “you know what my life is good right now, you all are doing a great work for the Lord, let me pray for you!” How awesome is that, man tears were just flowing from my eyes when I heard that. Another moment was after lunch we were having our group devotion time outside and Brayden again asked if he could stay with us. So as Madelynne began she was talking about how great God’s love is. She then asked Brayden if he knew how much God loved Him. Brayden just shook his head no, so Madelynne began to share how God sent His son to die for us but how He rose from the grave but what I love is that she got down to his eye level so she could look him in the eyes. You want to know what Brayden said…..all he said was “WOW!” that is it. Man streams of tears came again, I just sat there amazed at how much we take for granted just knowing who He is and how much He truly loves us and here was one little boy who lives in America and had no idea.

Oh before I forget this, I picked up an eighty pound bag of concrete by myself…stupid I know but I was proud that I did it. See we were all trying to get the bags off the van and Beverly and I worked on one together and I went back to get the last one, thinking she was coming back…nope. So I thought to myself how hard can this really be, I mean I have 2 boys. I shimmied it off the van and into my arms, turned the corner and that is when…plop! Down went the bag, now you would think some sweet, kind young gentleman would come help…wrong! They all just cheered me on from the front porch including Beverly J Oh and to top it off the World Changers camera crew were there and filmed the whole 15 minute saga, ok it was about 3 minutes but it felt like longer. I finally got the bag off the ground and there was our sweet youth pastor there to take the load from me…and to throw a handful of cicadas at me!! Oh did I forget to mention that this was the 13 year of the cicadas for this area, umm yep! There was thousands upon thousands and I am not exaggerating. Want to know what one looks like well look below! The first half day I was terrified of them but because there were so many you just learn to pick them up by their wings and throw them. Oh we did come up with some games like cicada baseball, make them fight each other and see how many you can stick to someone shirt. Yeah I know we were mean but they were dying anyway J

Look at those beady red eyes!

A few more highlights, our other group built a wheelchair ramp for a lady named Charlotte. They built the ramp in one day when it was suppose to take 2, they work so hard. A couple of the youth got to sit and talk to Mrs. Charlotte and found out that she had not been to church in awhile because she had no way of getting there so one of the volunteers who lives in Moberly said he would come by every Sunday and take her to her church that was just down the road. How awesome!! I just love seeing God work! Also Tuesday night we had a prayer of commitment, it was just a time for us to pray for our hometown, the people in our town, the houses we were working on, etc. And I was just taken back to see all of these young youth committed to prayer and to hear their heartfelt prayers. Always an amazing site to see so many in prayer and worship and then to pray that it continues beyond this place and this week.

We left on Wednesday and headed to the St. Louis Mall! We got to spend like 8 hours there and I thought I would be in heaven…wrong, that is just too much shopping for me. I did pick up a really nice winter jacket for $25 it was originally $160!! Oh yeah steal of the day!! Also me and my other SIC’s (sisters in Christ) kinda got in some pickles having to do with a toy snake, Justin Beiber, and a talking hamster…well I think you get why we might have had so much fun!! They were such a blast to hang out with. Thursday we went to Six Flags and I was so excited cause I LOVE roller coasters. But there were two rides I had already said I did not want to go on Superman and Mr. Freeze. I did good for the most of the day then we saw some of the youth/ college and career kids. Which by the way we had not seen for the whole day, they were telling us about Mr. Freeze and I had made mention that I was not riding that one…STUPID! Next thing I knew I was being carried by two former high school football players one on either side of me! I kept trying to get out of it but they would drag me back. Finally in line and my knees were so weak. This thing shot you out at like 60 mph! But I am here to tell you I did it and survived, now I did have to get Madelynne to help me get back off of the ride because my knees were too weak but I did it!! All in all it was a wonderful trip, I actually got to know the heart of those who I went with and that is something I will always cherish! Well I hope I did not bore you too much but thank you for reading J

just look at that thing! Yes it just goes straight up!!

Our crew with Ms.Mary

Us with Justin Beiber!

I have more pictures but blogger is acting up, you can check them out on my FB page =)

"We are just attempting, unless God is attracting!"

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. ~Psalm 127:1

Fun in the Sun

2011-06-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

Whew, I think I am still recovering from our fun filled vacation. We had such a blast last weekend. This post will just give a small glimpse in our vacay and overload of some pictures, if that is ok with you…oh it is, great!

We drove down on Saturday morning, the boys were so excited because we were in our new vehicle and they could watch their movies in there. As soon as we got into town we went straight to my parents’ house to get kinda fixed up. We would be taking some family pictures in about 2 hours. Well to my surprise when we got there my parents’ air went out! So umm yeah I was trying to blow dry my hair in about 90 degree weather, can you say frizz!!! Before we arrived at the park where we were having our pictures made, I kinda told…ok maybe threatened a hair that they better put their best smiles on :) They did great a little too great, Carrie who was taking our pictures asked them to act silly and all they would do was smile…opps

Woke up Sunday and had breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast places…Coram’s, if you are from the PC area you know where I am talking about! Then we headed to Shipwreck Island for a day in the sun. The boys LOVED the park, they played really hard and never showed any signs of being tired, unlike their parents. Their two favorite places to go was the wave pool and the “crazy” river ride as Caleb likes to call it - or you may know it as the Lazy River. We got there soon after the park opened and left just a bit before it closed. Fun in the sun it was.

Monday we were headed to Navarre Beach to visit some really good friends of ours and their boys and ours are really close. But first we needed to go have some breakfast, but they just opened a Bob Evans near the mall and I have eaten there before and it was so yummy!! So we decided to give it a try, bad move should have stuck with Coram’s. The service was ok but it was so slow!! And what I got was not like what I had before but we eventually finished and made our way to the Platt’s. Each time we get together with their family it is like we have never been apart and I just love that! The boys stayed up until 11:30 and until their heads hit the pillow they were all playing hard! Tuesday Josh and Greg went to some gun exhibit in Eglin so Linda and I took the kids to the park. This park was awesome! It had a really nice play set, and water pad thing that water shoots up from the ground (it was really neat!), a pier and was near the beach. So we did them all! I have to tell a short story about myself. As we were walking along the pier, Linda looked over the edge to see the turtles but to her little eye she saw a snake and called the boys to come look. Well of course it would be my son who would look over and drop his flip flop right by the snake. So I told Linda to keep her eye out for it and I was going to go and get the flip flop, well I stand here to tell you that I did it! Now the snake was only about this long _______________________________________________________________ but it was still a snake. There is actually a funny story to go with it but it is too long to write. We came back and rested a bit then headed back out to the beach that evening, and boys could not have been any happier.

Well we packed up Wednesday and headed home, the boys did not want to leave and Evan even told me he did not want this day to end L Had a really great visit and can’t wait to do it again. We headed back to MS but made our last stop to visit 2 of our other friends, The Gables. Kelly has said we are now Mississippi sisters and I love that, because we are two girls born and raised in good ol’ Panama City, Fl.and MS has been quite a change for us both, so it just seems fitting for us. We had a good dinner with them just chatting and catching up. Finally made it home around 10pm. Whew! Now that I am starting to catch back up, I will be heading out on Sunday to be a chaperone for our youth’s mission trip, looking forward to it but please pray for me. J I’m sure I will be telling you all about that soon too!!!

Whynot Friday- Birthday Edition!!

2011-05-13T12:04:00.001-05:00

Ok so I can never make a blog in time for Whatnot Wednesday so I thought I would have a Whynot Friday cause well why not? J I also do not have one of those cute buttons for this either so lets just pretend that there is one here. Ok so I cannot promise this will be an every Friday thing but it will be this Friday. J Please bear with me I am kinda in a silly mood. Well this is my birthday edition for this Whynot special.

- So the day of my birthday I was woke up by the sweetest birthday wishes from all of my boys. Singing Happy Birthday to me, what a way to start my day!

- After I got out of the shower to my surprise there were a couple of cards and some presents waiting for me! My favorite was the cards, I don’t know why but I just love cards, they make me feel special! Josh has gotten me a pair of shoes I had wanted but probably would not have gotten. And my sweet SIL got me 2 5^th Ave candy bars. I just love those things. We had a conversation one day about our favorite nostalgic candy bars and I loved these things as a kid…who am I kidding I still do!

- When I got to work one of my friends there Kimmons made me a very YUMMY breakfast…eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and chocolate gravy! What you have never heard of chocolate gravy before either, yeah well one day we were talking about breakfast foods and she mentioned this and I was like WHAT? She said it was like gravy but chocolate! Ok can never go wrong there. Well it was really, really YUMMY!!!

- Oh I almost forgot to tell you about my umm first birthday wish when I got to work! So I was sitting at my desk when I heard this noise behind me….I turned around to look, nothing. Turned around again and something dropped, when I saw something I thought at first it was a wasp and went to go get the fly swatter. To my surprise the wasp started climbing up the wall…wait what they don’t normally do that! Oh that is because it was a MASSIVE ROACH!!!! Oh how I despise these things, I quickly got a can of Raid and sprayed the mess out of that thing! Happy Birthday to me! J

- Well my sweet hubby took me to lunch, we went to Zaxby’s because they have this fabulous birthday cake milkshake and well since it was my birthday, he thought I needed one. I really enjoyed getting to eat lunch with him because we do not get to do that very often and I really cherished that! When I got back to work I had a very delicious cake waiting for me that a co-worker had make for me! Mmmmm!

- My birthday fell on a Wednesday so when we got back from church Jessica had made me another cake! Yes I was on a sugar high for the next couple of days…yeah I am still on one! Well she let the boys help make my cake, which I love and they wanted to put sprinkles on it cause a cake without sprinkles is just not a cake. J As Jessica turned around to help them Taylor had the sprinkle container turned upside down in his mouth! Well then that just made Caleb want to do that too and before I knew it they were trying out every sprinkle thing before they put it on my cake. I guess I should be thankful for that J

- So all in all I had such an amazing birthday and I can not thank everyone enough for the calls, cards and wonderful FB messages!! Hope you have a great Whynot Friday!!!

Mother's Day reminds me how blessed I am

2011-05-10T07:24:00.000-05:00

You know when I first found out that I was pregnant I did not know what to expect, I mean for most of my life all I really wanted to be was to be a mom. I can remember a conversation with my grandpa where I told him how I did not think college was for me and that I knew someday I would be a mom and wanted to stay at home. Well about 3 years later after that conversation my wish came true and I would never want it any other way. Now at the current time I do not get to stay at home but we are working (for – remove) hard to get me back home! Being a mom has taught me so many wonderful things about myself; although not all the time did I think they were all wonderful. I have 3 amazing boys in my life and they bless me everyday and I feel so lucky to be the wife of one and the mother to the other two. Now there are days I feel like I could probably pull all my hair out but when I hear just 4 words it is all wiped away…I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!

Poor Caleb had to be the little guinea pig while I tried to work out all of my issues and then come to find I will work on those for the rest of my life. I don’t want to sound like every thing is perfect in our family, but I do feel so blessed. Sometimes I wonder if this is really the life I am living! Well I hope all you mothers out there had a great Mother’s Day and even if you are not a mom yet I pray you still had a great day!

If you do not mind I would love to tell you a bit about my weekend. It started on Friday; I rushed home to try to make my self look decent for my date night with my hubby! We went to one of my favorite restaurants…The Melting Pot and it was so yummy! We went with some great friends so that made for some great birthday memories! Anyone who knows me would be very proud to know that I ate a bite of lobster and part of a strawberry…yes I said strawberry and can say that I still do not care for either one. J

Well Saturday Josh took the boys out for a daddy day! I just love that he is such a great father to them, I hope they grow up to be half the man that Joshua is. Anywho so what would any girl do when she has about 3 hours of time to herself…watch a chick flick, take a long bath, paint my nails no rather I spent the entire 3 hours cleaning! I put away winter clothes and went through some of my own clothes to toss out. We went to the pond while daddy had to go to work for a little while, where Caleb jumped into the pond went all the way under and popped back up! He was very proud of himself…mommy was a tad nervous and well you should ask his uncle who was in the water with him how nervous he was J.

Sunday morning the boys surprised me and when I say surprised I actually mean Taylor kept trying to tell me what I got and the kind of card I got J My favorite thing was Josh let the boys pick out my mother’s day card and well they decided to get me a birthday Avatar singing card! I loved it because it is what they picked out J Oh and I finally got my flower from Taylor that he had been telling me about since last Thursday. My 3 boys did the cleaning that I did not get to on Saturday and Josh’s dad and sister cooked an awesome dinner! All the boys helped clean off the table. So yes I can say I had a wonderful, amazing, blessed day!!!

Hey batter, batter, batter!

2011-04-20T13:11:00.000-05:00

Well t-ball season has finally started and I am more excited than I thought I would be. Monday night was Caleb's very first t-ball game and the whole family in MS went. We actually all piled in the Expedition, I wish I had a picture of that cause we were packed from the front to the back and I loved it! Caleb did so good actually all the kids did really well some had done this last year and it was neat to see how well they did catching and hitting without the tee. Caleb hit the ball once with out the tee and once with it, I was so proud especially since we actually have not worked to much with him( yes I know we are awful parents ). He caught and threw a couple of them too. It was so funny to see when the ball was hit all the kids would scramble to get it, at one point Caleb was getting upset cause he had not got one, it was funny seeing him pout. But Caleb always surprises me with the sweet spirit that he has, in the middle of the game Caleb starts talking to one of his teammates, well apparently when Caleb threw the ball to the pitcher, the coach, the boy ran in front of the ball and almost got hit in the back of the head so Caleb went over there to say he was sorry! He then moved out of the way so another boy could catch a ground ball, he told Josh "I already got one daddy, I want him to have a turn". I pray he keeps that sweet spirit! Taylor did not get to see much of the game he was too busy EATING and saying I am still hungry mommy...and we ate dinner before the game. That boy eats and eats and eats. He is funny now because he now tells you that whatever he is getting is good for you. Like he will be eating candy or something and say "Mommy candy is good for you". I think he is getting that a bit mix up with the candy tasting good. :)

So I was excited cause I thought I was going to be the Team Mom and I don't know why but I really was excited but in t-ball drama news someone got it before I did and I have to tell you I was pretty bummed out but maybe next year. Anywho I hope you enjoy some of the pictures, I wish I had the ones that I took during the game but I had not had a chance to upload those yet so I will post those next time.

One of my favorite moments was the very end there was a boy who has autism and he got the chance to hit the ball, he hit it, then got to just run all the bases and seeing the joy on his face umm yeah I was crying!! So sweet! I pray you all have a joyful week!!

my joys before the game

I just think he looks like a natural

Taylor with the popcorn that his Pop got for him

And you always need a family photo!

5 Random thoughts from this week

2011-04-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

Ok so it is drawing near the end of the week and I thought it would be kinda of neat to give you my top 5 things that have been on my little brain. J

1) The other day as I was driving home from work I was listening to K-Love and I heard a quote that really spoke to me and I loved it. It is from Louie Giglio and he spoke about this at this years Passion conference (would love to go to one of those) and he said “Why do we say small prayers to such a Big God”. At first I was like what all these things matter to him but then when I dug a little deeper I thought about how sometimes I just give Him the small things and try to take care of the bigger things myself, does anyone else do this? Also I thought that something small to me might be big to you and vice versa. I was talking to Josh about this last night and he gave a great analogy he said to us driving to the gas station is not a big deal but to a 15 year old who just got his permit it could be. So this has been something I have been pondering about.

2) I registered Caleb for kindergarten; yep that was a big step for me. I did feel like a bad mom when I found out that day that you could bring your child with you to meet the teachers and yeah I did not do that. But I got there handed her my papers and forms, she just check that I had all my stuff and said well that’s it….Wait, what that is it I told her there should be something big for me cause this was a momentous thing for me J She just smiled and said it is for a lot of moms J

3) Do any of you deal with insecurity, surely not? Just kidding. But this thing with insecurity has good and bad days. Some days I can just be positive and not let it get me down but there are others days where I just see things and it just crumbles me. I do know that God is walking/helping me through this every step of everyday and I am so thankful that I have that. My friend Emily posted this verse awhile back and I just try and recite this when my insecurity wears it ugly head.

4) Four the past 3 weeks a friend of mine and me have been going to this boot camp fitness thing to help jump start us to “trying” to be more active. Whew I really wish you all could see us we are a sight to see. I did not realize how out of shape I was until I was asked to jog! Man ol’ mighty! Well this past week we worked on our glutes and can I just tell you how bad my butt is hurting right now, I can barely sit my muscles hurt so bad. Ok so this is nothing really big just thought I could give you all a laugh J

5) Prayer! That has been the thing I have done and needed the most. I know we are suppose to always pray but for some reason this past couple weeks it has been the thing I have needed to do the most of. And the thing is that I actually don’t know what I am praying for I am just praying. We are praying for us a house of our own. We are praying for me to be able to stay home or be there as much as I can, cause has you might have read before that I feel God calling me to be at home again or just being able to just be there for my boys more…don’t know when or how but I do feel that call. We have had several opportunities fall through and some more possibly becoming available. We want to make sure we get into the house that God wants us in, not just the first one that becomes available. Both finding a house and me hopefully getting to spend more time home with the boys are going to have to be a God thing. But he has shown us that he can do amazing things with situations that can seem hopeless. We know he has a plan, I guess more than anything we need to pray for peace in that knowledge. It’s hard to wait on someone else, even when it’s God. I am waiting to hear that small maybe big voice from my Savior!

I pray you all are having a great and joyous week, I know we are! Things are still uncertain but one thing for sure is that I have a wonderful Savior!!!

Bonus: One of my favorite songs right now is from Casting Crowns “Glorious Day”, it is helping prepare my heart for Easter! Check it out J

"Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else” ~Galatians 6:4

What a weekend!!

2011-04-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

Wow! That is how I have to say this weekend was. It was a busy one but a beautiful, joyous and just plain wonderful weekend with my family! Saturday morning Josh had his 3^rd annual Men’s Easter Egg Hunt, and it was a big success. I think God has just blessed Josh with an amazing ability to draw people in and make them feel so comfortable. Well while the men folk were playing so were the kids. They were down playing in the pond, and well starting to look more and more like boys…covered in mud J. I went down to check on them and what did my wandering eyes see but my youngest son stark neked! All I could think was how I wanted to get a picture for you know that folder you keep with pictures for his wife to see J But I refrained and just took one from afar. I did happen to ask Caleb where his brothers underwear went and he pointed to the back of the woods. I kindly asked if you could please go get them and when he came back this is how he came back with them. J

We came in for a bath cause that afternoon the boys were going to get their haircut and I really did not need the boys smelling like pond water. Hehe. Taylor and I went down for a quick nap. We then ventured off to Wal-Mart to get haircuts, a few odds and ends and then went to go get Caleb his first pair of cleats and a glove. As we were going checking out at Wal-Mart I slowly remember why I usually come by myself, it was not because they were bad but because we spent so much money!!! Mercy, then on top of that we went to Hibbett’s to get Caleb’s shoes and glove, so yeah. But I would not take back the look on Caleb’s face as he was trying on his first pair of cleats he was so excited! We came home that night ate upstairs and watched “Tangled”. Just love that movie!!

Sunday was Caleb’s first t-ball practice and he was beyond thrilled, he kept asking if we were going to the “real” baseball fields. Well as we were walking to the fields Caleb was walking next to me and I really don’t know why but I really treasured that walk. He just had this huge smile on his face and he said to me “Mama I think I am going to meet some new friends and if they are shy I will just tell them my name.” I just thought how proud I am that he is my son, makes you wonder how proud God was for His Son. As I stood there I just prayed that God would help lead that heart to do great things.

So then we watched and he did really well, and then I can not forget Taylor. That boy just flashes his little smile and he whoo’s the girls, see these are the friends he met below and he had a blast! Such a flirt

Well after practice we thought we would celebrate and go to Ya-Ya’s, it is a frozen yogurt place and oh so good. The boys loved getting to pick their own flavor and own toppings. We then headed to the Grove, they were having a concert there and it was The Goo Goo Dolls! That was a really good time, the boys just thought it was really neat. Then we headed home to get ready for bed, lets just say we did not hear much out of the boys that night J That was our weekend, how was yours?

this is The Grove

I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High ~~ Psalm 9:2

Prayer for Aunt Lillie

2011-03-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

Good morning to you all, I hope today is bringing you lots of blessings! I just wanted to write to you all and ask if you would please say a special prayer for my Aunt Lillie, she is actually my great Aunt but I am just as close to her as my Aunt. You see about almost a year ago she found out the she has cancer and where it is they can not remove it. They had told her she would have probably a year to two years so she was living it to the fullest well just in the past month things have progressed faster than we thought. She is in the hospital right now and they can not say for sure but my prayer is that she will go peacefully.
I can remember her taking me as her sidekick when I was around 10 and she lived in Panama City, she would take me everywhere with her. We had some real special times! I wish I had a picture for you all to show you but I am at work so I am sorry but know that she is one special lady! Thank you all!!

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. ~~Isaiah 61:3

The good, the bad and the blessed!

2011-03-02T08:55:00.001-06:00

Whew! That is what I have to say for the past week I had. All last week and I do mean all last week I had that nasty flu bug and it got me down good! It started last Sunday I just was not feeling so good and Monday I had the day off and was so excited to spend the day with my boys but we all spent it sick! I was kinda ok with it because they were my snuggle bugs! By Tuesday it was really bad, for both me and for Caleb. He woke up early because he had just thrown up L poor little guy. I was told by my hubby and MIL that I would not be going to work Wednesday. Well Thursday I thought I was feeling a tad bit better and thought I should go back to work…WRONG! Ughh I made it through the day but my supervisor told me I should just stay home on Friday, guess I looked that bad J. But can I tell you as sick as I was this week, my heart was just so blessed! You see my boys just loved all over me and prayed for me and loved on me some more J Caleb told me just about every hour how much he loved me, he also did not leave my room during the time I was sick, he said he just wanted to be near me. Make my heart just smile! One day I told him how special he was making me feel and he told me that is because I was special! Taylor would come pop in my room and say “mommy I love you!” Yep I felt so blessed. Ok I know I am doing a bit of bragging but well I can so there, hehe J. Josh has been such a blessing too, he has taken such great care of me, the whole family really has but for my hubby it just means so much more to me! On Thursday when I attempted to go to work I did not have the strength to hold the blow dryer to dry my hair and he was sweet enough to do it for me. I just love that man! I am feeling much better today and have appreciated all the prayers and calls.

Switching gears we have some big things that have happened in the Gregory household. First thing that happened was the boys got their own beds! And they are so excited about them. See they have had to share a bed for the past year and it was time for them to get their own. So one of Josh’s brothers friends(did you catch all that J) had some from when he moved into his new house and just gave us two twin beds for free!!! We were beyond excited, what a blessing. Well I did not know how the boys were going to react to their beds but they were absolutely excited about them and have slept so good for the past week now!

Also we got a new to us car! We have finally got us a 2^nd vehicle it is a 2004 Ford Expedition and we are just so in love with it. God really had his hand in finding a car for us. We had just started looking for one and had a pretty standard price range. Well Josh was wanting something under 10k and I told him he was crazy…guess I turned out to be the crazy one cause I just happen to be talking with one of my friends from church and she asked "yall looking for a car, what kind?" I said something like an SUV and we would really like 3^rd row seating. She then told me I needed to talk with this lady in particular cause she was selling her car and it was under 10k! So we went and looked at it and it was just what we were looking for. Even better was that they were the only owners and took great care of the car. We still knew we needed to pray about it and spend the next week praying, well lo and behold it is ours now J

This week or should I say even month has just been the month of Love, God has shown that He is in control and works things out in His time! I hope this month has been one of just pure love! Before I leave you I would like to ask if you could help me pray because being at home this week I felt very strongly God telling me that my time working was possibility coming to an end and that my calling to be a stay at home mommy is what would be next. So please pray as we look into this, as many of you know that is where my heart is so I just don’t want to jump the gun but I also don’t not want to do something I am suppose to be doing.

This is from our murder mystery Valentines banquet! So much fun!

This is from our second date night in one month!!!

The boys in their new beds!!!

Who will love me for me

2011-02-03T08:44:00.000-06:00

Well the answer to my question, who will love me for me, is God. But this past couple of weeks I have had a hard time telling myself that. Now I am not saying He is the only one who does cause my hubby loves me for everything I am and sometimes I am not always the sweetest J. But God has no strings attached or will not waiver how He thinks. These past weeks have just been spiritually and emotionally rough for me. Nothing really dramatic happened but I have just felt like I do not know who I am right now. I don’t know if it started when I was getting some suggestions on how I could work on a few things or being told that I am not really good enough but I do know that the devil has used those insecurities and has ran with them. Telling me constantly who is going to love you for you, see these other people don’t. Man I hope I do not sound too crazy. So I recruited my best prayer partner, my hubby and asked for him to pray with me and for me. Well during my prayers times I just felt God telling me to write down the stuff I do, not to boast on myself but to show me how he does use me. How He thinks I am good enough for Him to use me to try to be a vessel for Him. I encourage you if you are ever feeling like this too, to just take a moment and write a few things you do and see that the devil just as no idea J. I know this is a short blog but I will leave you with a few lyrics from the song that I have claimed for this week and God has used it to show me just how loved I am.

He’s waiting to die as he sits all alone
He’s a man in a cell who regrets what he’s done
He utters a cry from the depths of his soul
“Oh Lord, forgive me, I want to go home”

Then he heard a voice somewhere deep inside
And it said, “I know you’ve murdered
And I know you’ve lied
And I have watched you suffer all of your life
And now that you’ll listen, I’ll tell you that I…”

I will love you for you
Not for what you have done or what you will become
I will love you for you

~~JJ Heller- What love really means

Here are a few verses that God has shown me this week

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago~ Ephesians 2:10

I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry~ Psalm 40:1

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him~ Hebrews 11:6

The Randomness of me...but I got an award for being stylish

2011-01-20T11:35:00.001-06:00

Ok so I have been putting this off for a little while, well because I was trying to think of some random things about me. If you hang out with me long enough you will see just how random I am but trying to come up with some was a harder task then I thought. Emily at Speaking the truth in love and laughter tagged me for a Stylish blog award, first thought like many was ok but Emily I really appreciate you thinking of me! Emily is one of the most encouraging but yet so funny friends I have. Emily has such a beautiful family and God has blessed her with such a great talent of writing and encouraging others through her life and her blogs! Emily I am sorry but I think that I will just play along, I am afraid I not have 15 people to tag.

1) I have this obsession with everytime I go to Wal-Mart, I feel the need to have to buy some kind of bin or basket. I guess maybe I feel that if I have all these bins and baskets that I will feel like a more organized person. Cause in my head I feel I am a very well organized person. I am not wondering if I need to go to some kind of meeting for this, like a BBA...Bins and Baskets Anonymous. Meetings held on the second Monday of every month at Wal-Mart =P

2) Some know this about me but it is still kinda random but I do not like veggies. Well I take that back I like green beans(but not fresh, I already know...I am weird) and carrots, but only cooked ones. I have come quite a long ways though because I used to have to douse my carrots with Mrs.Dash but now I just add a few spices and I am good. =)

3) Ok this one might make you really laugh at me but when I was in middle school I wanted to be on the cheerleading squad. So I practiced and practiced(not that it helped). Well I wore glasses back then (I have upgraded to contacts now) and felt they could hold me back by looking like a geek so I left them in the locker room...big mistake. When it was my groups turn we were to stand in a line and they would call you one by one to come to your routine. I just assumed that they would just go down the line, I never thought they would pick randomly. So they started pointing at me to come up but guess what my sight impaired self could not see them. Finally the girl next to me told me they were calling me but I told her to shhh and just kept smiling(cause that is an important thing in cheerleading). So finally they called my name and they were a bit agitated and it kinda just went down hill from there. Needless to say I did not get on the team. Oh boy that is kinda a sad story =)

4) I do not like pickles(remember the veggie thing) but I love the juice it leaves behind. So like if I am eating a hamburger or ordering a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a I like to get the pickle on it and then give it to my boys.

5) I once smelled smoke in our bathroom at work, well it worried me so I said out loud in front of everyone "We need to keep an eye out because the bathroom smelled like smoke". Well one of my co-workers was telling me to hush and I just thought how rude telling me to hush. I found out later that sometimes people who go ummm #2 will try to cover up the smell by quickly lighting a match and then blowing it out. Oh I am sorry I have just always used the good ol glade(but you have to say it glad-day). I did feel really bad for calling the person out but I guess I am just very naive and did not know. =)

6) I do not like fruit either...hey it is different from the veggies so it is different random thing.

7) I have my own language that my husband call Amberisms. If I can not think of the word I will sometimes just make one up or if I confuse words. I also sometimes mix up sayings like I sometimes say smooth move Einstein instead of smooth move exlax =)

I will give you a bonus *I also have to always sleep at the opposite of where the door is on my bed*

Well I hope I brighten your day a bit with all of my randomness. Remember BBA meeting second Monday in February at Wal-Mart =)

Snow Day!!!

2011-01-11T18:48:00.000-06:00

What a surprise we got on Sunday night and Monday morning! SNOW!!! Sunday night it was really cool (I sound so immature) to actually see it coming down and start piling up. The boys, Josh and I ran outside for a quick peek. The boys just thought it was really neat to see it falling and trying to catch them with their tongues. I woke up Monday to see a whole lot of WHITE...EVERYWHERE. It was so beautiful. After talking with Josh, his dad and my boss we came to the conclusion that I would get to stay home and have a snow day!! I was beyond excited!! Josh got to stay home with us too, so it was just one big family day...my favorites. Per the boys request they wanted pancakes for breakfast, so I made them sprinkled pancakes and per my hubby's request made brown sugar and cinnamon pancakes. Now the boys were stocked full of energy and ready to go. So we bundled them as much as we could and ventured outside into the huge white blanket, also known as the backyard. The boys and I just loved it, they more just wanted to eat the snow which was just too funny to watch. Every time I would turn around one of them was shoving snow in their mouth. We played outside for about 45 mins then went inside for some more energy(lunch) and a quick nap. Then we were off again, this time the whole family was outside. We built a snowman with a huge melon, had a snowball fight, made some snow angels, attempted sledding, Caleb loved rolling down the hill and Taylor just liked eating it. Yesterday is one of those days that will stay in my mind and just be a great memory and am so thankful I got the opportunity to stay home(one of the perks living out in the middle of nowhere). It was just an awesome day...a great family snow day. Here are just a few pictures, wish I could post more =)

A year in memories!

2011-01-07T10:48:00.000-06:00

Sorry for all the pictures being in a mess, but I still have yet to get the hang of this blogger picture thing =) I do hope you enjoy some of our pictures from this year! I hope you all are having a blessed week!

Blessings of a year gone by!

2010-12-30T11:33:00.000-06:00

As this year is coming to a close, I kinda want to look back at this past year. It was been filled with a lot of changes. Change - You know that word is actually hard for a lot of people to get a hold of and I have to admit it was not easy for me. I still have days where it is a bit hard but I know that God is seeing me through and I have the love of my husband and boys that keep me going. We have been through a very tough patch this year and I would like to think I could share it with you all but I do not think I am that ready yet but know that God was and is still in control of it. We are so thankful for the family and friends we have in our life and who have prayed for us, you will not know how much we love you! I would like to share just a little about each of us through this year and kinda sum up what we have been doing.

Joshua has had a great year. God has blessed his gun business beyond anything we could ask for. God has blessed Josh with such a leader and a business savvy attitude that many things he touches he just excels. His boss has been a huge blessing in our life and we are so thankful for all the ways he has helped Josh out. He first gave Josh a job, then he offered Josh his store front to start Josh’s business if Josh would manage his sawmill for him. I just love this man for his commitment. His commitment to his work and more importantly to his family. He does everything he can to provide for us, he loves me with a kind of love that most long for and he loves his boys with all of his heart. I love when he comes home and the boys get so excited to see him and though he is really tired he takes some time to make them feel loved! I am so proud to call this man my husband, through all that he has gone through this past year and half, he remains focused. Thank you babe! Oh I forgot to mention that God has blessed Joshua with the opportunity to play guitar for the youth here and Joshua is so happy to be doing something he loves again.

Caleb was just born to be a big brother. Caleb has his daddy’s patience(he did not get that from me J), there are days that he gets a little frustrated but most days he just takes time for Taylor. He has so much compassion for people, I am just praying that Josh and I can help him use that gift for God’s kingdom. I catch myself most days just staring at him, thinking how big he has gotten. Next year he starts school and that is going to be a very hard time for me, mainly because I have had to work his last year at home but I do know that he will do great. Caleb is also our monkey of the family, he will climb trees without any fear. The boys got a playground for Christmas and he will climb to the tippy top of the thing, but he is so careful about it. I know that sounds crazy but he really is. Caleb has been through two surgeries this year, one for a lump under his throat and one to stitch up his cheek that he cut wide open walking past a piece of metal tin roof. When I look back on those two thing right there I see how much God was with him and me! He is such a brave boy! This year Caleb has also been asking a lot of questions about God and Jesus(who he says is his heroJ), and he says the sweetest prayers that just come from his heart! Ok one last story about Caleb, I have this book that I write a lot of what the boys say or do, kinda like a journal well as I was reading this past year I saw a funny story. Caleb was sitting on the table, which he is not supposed to do…well here is the dialect

Me: Caleb please get off the table

Caleb: But Auntie sits on it

Me: Well if Auntie jumped off a bridge would you(yes I know but I did go down that route)

Caleb: Would she catch me?

That silly boy

Ok well onto Taylor, boy when I finish bragging(I am a mom I am aloud right?) I will have to have another post for a few pictures J Taylor is the ham of the family, that is the side of Joshua he got. He is the funniest little thing, I just wish I could just record half the stuff he says or the faces he makes. Right now he likes to tease me and I will ask him for a kiss and he will tell me “No kisses allowed”, but he will have this huge smile. This has been the big year for Taylor. He has given up his bibbies, which we thought we would never get rid of, he has been doing an awesome job on his potty training for the past 7 days now he has woke up with a dry diaper! He now wants to wear underwear like his brother and the day before Christmas he told me that he did not want to wear diapers at night anymore, as he said those are for babies. And around this time last year was when he transitioned from his crib to a big boy bed, so Taylor has had a lot of major changes this year. Taylor loves to sing and dance, a couple of months ago he would use just about anything as a microphone and now he will act like he know all the words to any song that we are listening too, so funny! Taylor has learned so much in this past year and some of it has come from his big brother whom he just adores. He used to call him bubba, he would run around the house yelling “buubba, buubbba”. Then he started trying to say Caleb and it came out “Cub” but now that big boy and say Caleb. I can’t wait to see what BIG things this year will hold for my sweet boy!

Well I guess now it is my turn, this year has held lots of change, growing and some growing. I am trying to learn to just let things go because in the end it really is not that big of a deal. Joshua and I have had to make a lot of decisions this year and where some it could tear apart, I think it has brought us closer. I think that is because we know that God has been in control of every situation this year and still is. I see Him with us with everything with Caleb, to us with our move, our house and just us growing as a family. I think it is funny because God has done some really BIG things in my life and has shown me that if I genuinely and humbly pray for something that He will answer it. I think He knew that I needed it. I know this maybe sounding really weird but I have had a tough year emotionally and I feel He was just reassuring me. Does that make sense? Well anywho other big things is that I am going to be an Aunt, well my best friend who I call my sister found out about a month or so ago that she is pregnant! So I am now saying that I am an Aunt, Leah said that is was ok J. I know there are some more things but you have read most of my year through my blog so I will conclude with that I am thankful for each and every situation in my life and for the family and friends who love my family and I and pray for us! May you all have a blessed 2011 and many more to come! A few pictures from the year to come J

On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul ~~Psalm 138:3 (NASB)

A GregorWii Christmas

2010-12-28T19:57:00.000-06:00

Are you recovering from this past Christmas? I didn’t quite know what to have thought of this Christmas at first, for some reason I was just not really feeling it which is not like me. I LOVE Christmas and it has nothing to do with buying presents(which I love to do) or Santa but it does have to do with a baby. But I also love this time of year because this time of year just seems to bring out the best of peoples hearts, seeing others so giving just does my heart good. Sadly though up until the week before Christmas I was just not really there. Caleb actually showed me and grew my heart a size or two bigger(like the Grinch). You see the Sunday before Christmas our pastor was actually sharing his message and it was on the Grinch and how Christmas is more about giving and making our hearts just a bit bigger. When Caleb was eating his M&M’s he had gotten from his Sunday School teacher, one of the college kids behind him was teasing him that he wanted some of his M&M’s. Most kids will tell them no but not Caleb, that boy has one of the biggest hearts I know of. He got out of his pew and went and offered him some of his M&M’s. That day my heart was filling with the Christmas spirit! I would love to share some of our Christmas with you.

On Christmas Eve we started to make Christmas cookies for Santa. I love making cookies with the boys, there is just so much fun that is being had J There was some mixing, tasting, rolling, more nibbling, maybe a little flour fight J, some more nibbling, cookie cutting, SPRINKLES and then the boys eating the sprinkles. We had so much fun, I just enjoy spending my time with them. Here are a few pictures below.

Christmas morning was so nice and actually relaxed. Taylor who has been asking everyday since the presents got put out if he could open them, could finally open his presents except he kinda went nuts and just started opening any present he could get his little fingers on. He was so funny! We decided to get a family gift this year and got us and the kids a Wii. Which we have named the GregorWii, catchy huh? Jeremy actually came up with that cool name and we like it. Anywho Caleb loves the Wii, he likes to sword fight and play the Star Wars game we got him and let me tell you that boy is good! Taylor is still getting used to it but I think he will come around soon. He loves the animals he got and all the movies. That boy could watch movies all day if you let him. Oh I forgot but the boys did get a “deer stand”(playground) for Christmas from Josh’s parents and Caleb just is a monkey on that thing and Taylor is now learning to climb and swing too! We are so thankful for all of our friends who love our kids and send them some special things too! Josh and I did our annual ornament exchange. Each year we both get each other an ornament we have done it for the past 8 years now. It started out at first as a simple lets get each other a sweet little ornament but now it is kinda a competition, a fun competition J I would have pictures from it but whoa, I was looking a tad bit rough so I think I will spare you all. Hehe. Oh and before I unload some of the pictures from Christmas I have to tell you that the boys and I had our first white Christmas! It was so beautiful, the boys went and played out in the snow a bit. Jessica, Josh and I cooked the Christmas meal and it was really yummy! I just love when Joshua makes his Christmas ham, it is the best!

Well that about does it for Christmas at the Chez Gregory household, I think the only thing that would have made this Christmas a bit nicer would have been if my family was with us too cause they love Christmas just as much as I do. Well pray you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and may you have a wonderful New Year!

us in the aftermath =)

Taylorsaurus is turning three!!

2010-12-07T08:22:00.000-06:00

Taylor toot,

People used to tell me how quickly time goes by as you get older, I do not realize how quick it did until I had two precious boys! And time goes by so fast. You are such an amazing blessing in all of our lives. This has been a year of many changes for you. You have learned so much and you have gained quite the funny little personality.

I am going to miss so many wonderful things that I can not get back. Like around this time last year I was still rocking you to sleep, those are some of my favorite times with you because since I had to go back to work, I missed a lot of new things you were doing and that time at night was just me and you! I am going to miss when you “don’t” need me much anymore, you are taking notes from your awesome big brother about becoming an independent but still sweet little boy. No longer a baby but as you say “I big boy”. And everything is now “I do it by myself”. You have such a way of making everyone around you smile, even when we are trying to be mad J

Taylor God has big plans for your life, I can see so many wonderful things coming out right now like how you absolutely love to sing and dance. If there is music you are moving and if you know most of the song you are singing right along making up a few of your own little words along the way. Daddy, Caleb and I are so proud of you and love you very much Taylor!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I fall more and more

2010-11-16T08:35:00.000-06:00

This day 8 wonderful years ago I said two words that changed who I was. I was no longer Amber Lynn Solomon, a daughter and a friend. I would become Amber Lynn Gregory the wife to an amazing man. Josh I became all twitterpated by you, you are one of the funniest people I know and you usually J know exactly when I need it. You are my best friend and feel so blessed to have married mine (best friend). I really don’t have all the most eloquent words to fill an enormous blog, I’m sorry. I guess I could fill it with a bunch of amberisms, and you would probably be the only one to even understand what they mean. See that is a few of the things I love so much about you, but like you told me the other day, I just can’t seem to write how much I truly love you. But I love you with all I have and fall more in love with you more everyday. Happy 8^th Anniversary babe!

Some of the things I am thankful for

2010-11-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for…

My wonderful creator

A husband who works hard for his family

Being the wife of my hubby

My hubby being my best friend

My faith

Being the mother of two amazing little boys

All the family I have

Some amazing encouraging friends

My job

His eternal promise

The beautiful day today

My testimonies (He has saved me from alotJ)

Being able to smell cookies baking or the smell of flowers

Seeing a beautiful sunrise every morning

Caleb’s compassion

Taylor’s sweet and funny spirit

My Savior lives

Joshua’s love

Second chances (I have had to have a couple of thoseJ)

Being given the chance to see my boys grow up

My hubby being the spiritual leader in our family

These are just a few things I am thankful for today! There are so many and new ones that come from Him everyday. I know that we should try to not only think of the things we are thankful for in the month of November but I do love that this month brings this to alot of peoples plus my mind. What are a few things you are thankful for…

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that can not be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ~Hebrews 12:28

Nerds,dinos and spies...OH MY!

2010-11-05T08:15:00.000-05:00

Ahh it is fall time, and though I do love the color changes during the fall time and cool weather is nice, I do dread winter. Well not winter all together cause it does have Jesus’s birthday and Taylor’s birthday wait..wait I can’t forget my Aunts and Jeremy’s, anywho but it does have COLD days and I am a Florida girl tried and true J. Well now that I got completely off subject. Ahh it is fall time and this past week and weekend we had so much fun. Sorry this post is a little late :)

The fun began when we carved pumpkins and even though I strongly and I do mean strongly dislike the smells of raw pumpkins, it was a lot of fun picking out faces for our pumpkins. The boys love getting all the mushy, gushies out.

Joshua does any awesome job carving them and making them look nice.

Is he not just so handsome!

I did take a stab at it but could not take the smell to long. If I was not such a prideful girl, I might post the picture with tissue stuffed up my nose to try to cover up the awful smell…but I am not! J

Here are the boys with their pumpkins (Caleb has been into this whole squinty eye thing)

On Wednesday we had our Harvest Festival and it was a great turn out. I just think Caleb is the most handsomest spy there is and Taylor well he is so stinkin cute in his dinosaur costume, which he kept taking off saying that he was hot…suck it up kid. No just kidding but I make him put it back on a couple of times during the festival because I am a mean mom J I also told him we would be dressing up as a dinosaur at the house A LOT! Here are a few pictures

On Friday at work we decided to dress up and well I will just let the picture speak for itself J We did have a lot of fun!

Well I was very excited for the weekend because our great friends from Florida were coming for the game that weekend. We got to have dinner with them Friday night and spent the day in the grove with them. It was a pretty good game. The undefeated also known as Caleb lost his winning streak, he had NEVER been to a losing football game and I think he has been to 9 or so. But it is ok because he still had fun, loved eating the cotton candy and is still my Caleb. I must say here though that I do believe that the Auburn band swayed him, they kept playing Darth Vader’s theme and every time they played Caleb would get so excited and start saying “Mommy, mommy they are playing Darth Vader’s song!!” This boy LOVES everything Star Wars, see his shirt below. He actually wanted to be Darth Vader Halloween but we kinda steered him towards a spy, because they are cooler. He kinda thinks else wise. We had a great week and weekend and hope you all had the same!

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ~~Matthew 5:16

Fall on my knees

2010-11-04T10:20:00.003-05:00

Ok this is going to be a very short blog but I just want to share with you of the power of prayer and the power of an amazing God. The past couple of days at work have been really rough. I don’t want to dig to deep into it but let’s just say that I have had altercations with an employee. Well I would come home fuming mad of just the lack of respect and was just not sure what to do. On Monday I encouraged my friends on FB to encourage a friend or just someone in their life that comes to their heart. When I went to bed that night I was praying and I said to God that I kinda knew who in mind He had for me, and to please give me the right words. Well as I closed my eyes I just knew that something was going to come up the next day. And wouldn’t you know it did, but sadly I do not think I was a true encourager that day. The next day/yesterday brought forth more challenges for this employee and me. This morning I was reading my devotional and it was just talking about how God has made us fearfully and wonderfully! But there was a part in there how we fall to our knees in humble prayer. The more I thought, the more I decided that maybe that is what I needed to do in this particular situation. I needed to fall on my knees and pray for this girl and for my actions. So that is what I did and let me just tell you GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! When I got to work we started on our morning stuff and she came up to me and said that she was truly sorry and she would try to be more respectful. I told her how much I truly appreciated what she just did and we both could work together to make things better. I just stood there in amazement over how wonderful my God truly is! I just wanted to share that with you all today, I am sorry if it does make a lot of sense but I pray that you can just see God’s glory shine! May God bless you all today!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~Philippians 4:6

Extraordinary Women 10'

2010-10-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Romans 15:13~

Whoa, what a wonderful refreshing weekend this has been. I spent Friday night and all day Saturday at the Extraordinary Woman’s conference in Tupelo. It was a very enlightening weekend for me. I discovered some things about me that I really did not like but I also saw that I am not alone and satan SHALL NOT PASS!! (I will get to that later)

Friday: We opened up with Chonda Pierce and as always she never fails to deliver a funny and yet very deep message to us sisters in Christ about the struggles of depression. We ended our night with a wonderful concert from MercyMe, man they are AWESOME! I just love to look around and see women or really anyone for that matter just worship God, such a beautiful sight.

Well we started on Saturday bright and early… and speaking of early I would kinda like to talk to Mrs. Julie Clinton and kindly ask her to please push back the time from getting there at 7:30(to get good seats) to maybe just maybe…9:30, I would just love to start by feeling a bit rested J But anywho Sheri Rose Shepherd started the day out and she is a former Mrs. America. She was funny well actually all the ladies were actually really funny. The key point in her message to us was that nothing can cancel God’s calling in your life aside from the lies you believe about yourself. We are to fight the good fight, we are God’s princess’s (I have always wanted to be a princessJ) and if you are a mom with boys tell them they are God’s might warriors. She also gave a great acronym

F- ind your first love!

I- dentify yourself

G- et over yourself

H- ear His voice

T-reasure obedience

Angela Thomas taught us about laying down our bitterness and picking up the peace and joy of God. She also gave us 7 points of embracing powerful peace

God is peace- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

God sent His son, Jesus to be the Prince of Peace- Isaiah 9:6

When we become a follower, we have His peace- John 14:27

Staying connected to God gives us peace- John 15

The spirit of God produces peace in our lives- Galatians 5:22

The deep abiding peace from God is almost unexplainable- Philippians 4:7

One day, we will live in peace Isaiah 57:2

We broke for lunch and Stormie Ormartian was up and man I feel so bad because she gets the bad timeslot to me I mean the combination of waking up early and then had just eaten well I am a bit on the tired side and oh I feel so embarrassed to say this but I did not catch much from her. Boy I am terrible but my friend was giving our Monday night WMU meeting some of her notes from the weekend and she said that Stormie said “don’t let where you are become a prophecy of where you will stay, and I actually love that statement. Too many times I think we get comfortable where we (I) are and not let God move in us and change us to grow.

Well we ended our day with one speaker that I was actually most excited to hear Lysa TerKeurst. Does that name maybe sound a little familiar, well she is the president of Proverbs31 ministries and writes a daily devotional at Proverbs31.org. I read those just about everyday and she writes in such a way that I feel like I know her personally, crazy I know. I actually got the chance to talk with her face to face and for some weird reason I actually got star struck and all I could say to her was thank you, over and over again J Well she was just so sweet to take just a moment before she went on stage to speak and sign my friends book and talk with us. She has one awesome testimony and you can actually read about it here. What two things I just took to my heart was she said that our reaction will determine our reach for Christ. Meaning that how we react to things can determine how others will perceive us. The second thing was the statement “not that I have too, but that I am able too!” Which I am so guilty of, now I am learning to be ok with the things that might be on my list for the day because I am able to do them. So that is some of the notes I got from this weekend, I pray that you all had a great weekend as well and that you might be able to get a piece of what this conference was.

Happy 5th birthday Agent Scarface

2010-10-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

Caleb, today is a day that has been much harder than I thought it would. For some reason turning a whole hand…turning 5 has been a lot for me to take in. You are no longer my little toddler you are such a sweet young boy! You are one of the most loving, compassionate, giving boys. You always give the sweetest complements and you try very hard to make sure no one gets left out. On Sunday mornings you always pass out toys and candy so that everyone has something. For your birthday this past weekend you were very concerned because you did not know whether your friend Daniel, who can not have gluten, would be able to have cake at your party. I don’t know many kids who would think of something like that and on their birthday! You are starting to become quite the comedian from when I asked you to get off the table and you said that Auntie sits on it and I said if Auntie jumped off a bridge would you?(yes I used that J) and your response was “Well would she catch me?” Oh you make me giggle. Caleb you say some of the sweetest most endearing prayers, you thank Him for getting to go to church, to being thankful that your Daddy and Mommy made it home safely today. I see glimpses of the man I think you will become and it just makes me smile. You look up to your daddy so much and just adore him and I am so thankful that you have the kind of daddy who takes time to guide you into becoming a man after God’s heart. Caleb I pray for you every night, God has BIG plans for your life and I am so eager to see you become the man He has made you to be!

Dear Bibby

2010-09-27T09:01:00.001-05:00

Dear Bibby,

It has been a great ride, but this letter is to inform you of your termination as of September 21, 2010. You have been such a key part of our family and especially to our son Taylor. You have supplied a lot of quiet moments, for which we are so grateful for. You were there for our son when we just could not seem to make him happy, you supplied us with some really good nights rest. But we are now at a crossroads, you have become a bit of a burden. I mean we can not even understand when he talks because you are there and we are ready for our big boy to truly become a big boy. But please do not worry we are also soon going to have to let the diapers go too. J I am sorry we were unable to give you a proper good-bye, I had planned on having one but when we could not find you and now had a dinosaur to sleep with, he just said you were no more. Thank you for making this so easy for us. We will be happy to write you a letter of recommendation if you need one. Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Taylor’s parents

Days with his bibby :)

Below are pictures with his new dinosaurs. They are the first 3 nights without his bibby.

Labor Day weekend fun!

2010-09-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well my friend Emily at Speaking the truth in love and laughter asked at the end of her blog what are you proud of lately and well I have quite a few things. This weekend was Labor Day weekend and man did I have a great weekend, even though my sweet hubby was gone L but he was having a great mans weekend. I just want to share a few things that happened this weekend in the Gregory household.

On Friday evening after we had finished a yummy dinner, Caleb asked if we all could play a game of football in the front yard. Well it was Pop as the QB and well actually I could not tell you what I or anyone else was because I have no idea I just ran around trying to tackle everyone =) It was alot of fun and hearing the boys laugh made all my pains feel better =P.

On Saturday thanks to Josh's mom and dad I got to go to the very first game of the Rebels season and while I would like to tell it was a great game it was disappointing. But I really did have a great time with Jessica as she would tell me about the plays that were going on. And it is always funny to see Jeremy and his dad get into the game. I do wish that Josh was there because when all three of the Gregory men get into the game it makes me chuckle. It was the great weather for a football game when we first got there it was kinda hot and not a cloud in sight but then as the sun was going down, the sidewe were stting on started getting some shade then it was perfect! He is a picture of Jessica and I at the beginning of the game

Sunday was a good day, we had a great service, came home and took a small nap then I went and made dinner. The menu meatloaf(which was really good cause I mix in sausage mmm...), homemade mash taters and some really well seasoned green beans. Delish! We had an arts and craft time after we ate dinner and boys made some really great pictures for their Uncle Aaron and Nana, it was for their birthdays. Well if Josh is usually away I will let the boys come and sleep in our bed, which I do not know why I do I never get that much sleep. But Sunday night we had a movie night in bed and watched The Incredibles. Caleb was asking ALOT of questions about superheros and how they got their super powers. I had just told him that superheros with special powers were not real, they were just pretend. Well this little ink stink who always surprises me with his wisdom said to me, "Mommy there is one superhero"..."Who?"...."Jesus mommy, He is our superhero". I now stand corrected. J

Monday was a day I was really looking forward to because the boys had been so great for me, I wanted to do something special for them. So there was this park that I had not been to but it looked really neat and I had wanted to take the boys for awhile, just waiting on a beautiful day. Well we got it on Monday is was so nice outside you really just wanted to spend all day outside. The boys and I had a great time at the park and we can not wait to take daddy to the park with us! Well as you know the park can build up quite the appetite so we went to Chicka-fil-a to eat. The boys ate all their lunches, had some ice cream and played on the playground there for awhile. We knew is was time to go because Taylor was telling us we was tired and ready for his nap. He is so funny! Speaking of Taylor that little boy has become quite the little mama's boy and I can't tell you how I absolutely love it. I think it is because around this age Caleb was detaching from his mommy and just loved to be with his daddy, which is ok he still shows his mommy so love. I just think I have two of the sweetest boys! Oh and before I forget I have to mention that Taylor has been using the potty like crazy, every now and then he has an accident every now and then but he is starting to get it!! One step closer to no diapers. Anywho sorry for the derail but after our nap I woke up to find that Josh had just gotten home and we all we beyond thrilled! Well the men folk were having a dove hunt since it was opening season and Josh and Caleb went. Well Nana had just walked down there with them and she started to head back to the house and Caleb said "Nana wait, will you please tell my mommy I love you her". Can you say melt my heart!

We grilled out that night and after we ate we were all headed to bed and Josh said hold on he wanted to show me something. He walked me out to the front yard and he had a blanket set out with a pillow so that we could watch the stars. I was so surprised we had not sat outside to watch stars in a long time. It was perfect outside. We sat outside for awhile just looking and talking about God's marvelous work! So I had a really great weekend and could not ask for anything more. I pray that you alls weekend was good too!! Thank you for listening to me brag and rant on and on.

Here are a few pictures from us at the park

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.~~Luke 6:23a

Connectedness

2010-08-25T09:18:00.001-05:00

You know when I was on vacation, one day I got to just sit outside of my grandparents house (yes it was that nice outside) in the quiet and read! I have been reading this really great book by John Ortberg called “The me I want to be”. There was this chapter on connectedness and how much we need it.

At the beginning of the chapter it actually talks about the way the a theologian named Abroham Kuyper talked about the way the Temple was set up

And how our hearts are like each section:

The outer court is where everyone had access just like that is our public self, the part most people see of us.

The inner court was called the Holy Place not everyone had access to this area, we too have this place where we allow certain people like friends and family to see this part of our hearts, where we share some of our deepest thoughts/feelings.

But there is one place a very guarded place, deep inside. It was entered by only the chief priest and it was only him and God. We too have this place where it is you and God. Now please do not think I came up with this reference it is a reference from the book I am reading.

Is this not the most beautiful illustration of our hearts, when I read this it gave me chill bumps and opened my eyes to see something new.

For this blog I kinda wanted to focus on the inner court where we allow certain people in but doing some thinking, I think I want to also talk about the beautifulness of the Holy of Holies in our hearts.

Having a relationship with someone is really important to the human body, when we are in company with people we love, I know for me I feel so comfortable and like I can share anything and that person will never judge but just continue to love me for me!

Love brings the power to become the me I want to be.-JO

For myself I really want to try harder to make long, loving and lasting relationships with friends and family. I know that we won’t always be singing kumbaya all the time, but I don’t want to have a lot of contacts in my life I want to have true friendships. In the book it gives some ideas on how to help build those relationships. One way is what he calls the gift of delighting, I call it the gift of servanthood. Have you ever noticed when you do something out of love for someone whether they know you did it or not, that it just fills them with a lot of joy. For me when someone does something for me and I know it was truly out of love it makes me feel special and in forth I want to pass that along to someone else. Kinda like the pay it forward system J When we can observe the words that flow from others, you can actually read part of their heart. John says when love grows people grow!

Another is the gift of love, have you ever noticed that when someone tells you that they love you how that makes you feel, or how about seeing the face of a person who is down and needs a bit of encouraging and saying those three words they mean a lot to that person. I was feeling pretty down the other day and on fb said that I was a little down, and when I was on the next day I had some of the most uplifting messages from some awesome friends and it made me feel loved! Love is not an emotion it is an action of the heart.

Do you ever feel like you take God for granted? I know that I feel that way and sadly enough I also do that. I take for granted that He is always there for me and will always love me. And I do not come to his throne with humbleness and brokenness, that really bothers me. How can I take for granted a God who has pulled me out of the toughest times in my life with love, and by love I do mean when He is being just too. Seeing this beautiful illustration of the place of my heart the Holy of Holies just seemed to click in my head and strive to make each day a step forward.

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love~~Ephesians 3:17

A birthday party on Onion Mountain...? Ramblings from my trip to NC

2010-08-10T12:50:00.013-05:00

Well I am now back from my trip to North Carolina to go see my granny and grandpa, and to celebrate my great granny’s 99^th birthday!! I had a really great time, it made me miss my grandparents so much. I am thrilled too because I got to take this trip by myself, my missed my boys(including my hubby) but it was nice to just spend time with my family and do some thinking, please say some of you mommies out there understand J

Well since I got to do some thinking…and some reading! I would love to tell you a few things I learned, realized and just plain random thoughts of mine. J

On the way, there I was cruising along and this cop pulls out a couple of cars ahead of me and all of sudden I see an array of red brake lights, well that made me giggle. I wonder if cops ever get a kick out of people slowing way down from them and trying not to pass them even though they are not going above the speed limit. Then I wondered if they ever go really slow just to see if others will follow suit. J

why is it when you are coming over a hill and you see the sight of all the HUGE buildings, that it just seems so intimidating?

see what I am saying :) yep that is kinda intimidating!

Oh did I mention that I had a TomTom with me and it got me lost…in the mountains!!! I have not been so scared in a long time. It was so winding that I could not remember where I came from and that stupid GPS lady kept telling me to turn…off the stinkin mountain! But I was proud that even though I freaked out a bit and bless my hubby’s heart for having a psycho wife sometimes, he finds a way to always calm me down, that I was able to get myself back to where I started without the GPS. Afterwards my grandpa told me that my uncle Kenny got lost on the very same mountain because of umm yep you guessed it, his GPS and when my parents came up their GPS tried to do the same thing. So lesson learned don’t turn onto Onion Mountain. J

My grandpa said the sweetest thing to me, when we were going to the store to get the fixins for the enchiladas I was making for him, we walked in and I was just going to grap a basket and he went for a cart. I told him that I could use the basket and then he said “No I want to feel like I am still needed from you!” That made me just smile and filled with JOY! So he walked around the store pushing the buggy for me, and I really cherished that time.

I realized what an inspiration my granny is, she goes and sits with her mom just about everyday just to spend what time she can with her. My GG does not quite remember who we all are so most days she does not realize who my granny is but that does not stop her at all. I just that so inspiring, I saw my granny in a different light this trip.

When I come to spend time with my family in North Carolina, they make me see how special family truly is. And how blessed I am to have so many, Aunts, great Aunts, cousins, second cousins, of course my grandparents and my GG.

I had such a great time with them and thankful for all the time I got to spend with each of them and can not wait till I can spend more and bring my boys to see them all! So this is just a little bit of my trip and the ramblings of it, I pray each of you has a family member that is just as special to you and if you have more you are truly blessed, and I feel truly blessed!

I apologize for the randomness of the photos blogger is acting up and I just can't seem to make it do what I want it to do!

This is the view from grandparents porch is it not beautiful!

My gg loves this babydoll, I think it is so sweet!

here she is with ALL of her children!

These are some clouds I saw coming home, are they not just beautiful, what a majestic God we serve!

Just one of those great weeks!!

2010-07-23T10:46:00.001-05:00

Man what a great week this has been at the Gregory household. You know that old say “if the momma ain’t happy ain’t no one happy” well I am actually starting to think it should be “if the children are grouchy EVERYONE is grouchy”. They really have a way of changing your moods.

The boys this week have been in the best moods and have been the sweetest, most respectful children this week and that has made everyone just a bit happier in the house. I have heard a lot of “mommy I have missed you”, which just does my heart in! And so many yes ma’am and no ma’ams (and yes and no sirs). They have listened right away, no arguing! And they have said the funniest things like Caleb saying the sun was in a time out and that is why it was not out. To when you ask Taylor why he needs something he replies with a “because I LOVE it!” And I have been in the best mood because almost everyday this week either both or one of the boys have woke up before I went to work so I got to see them and get the best hugs to start my day!!! I also got to eat lunch with them yesterday and that is so special to me! So I know all you mama’s out there fully understand why it has been such a great week.

I kinda think that they have actually had a pretty good week due in part to a little girl who came to visit and who the boys got to play with a lot! Her name is Mary Dogen, is that not the sweetest name, and Caleb just thinks the world of her. And in true mommy fashion am already planning a pre-arranged marriage J

On Wednesday they played all morning on the huge slip-n-slide and had a blast, then had a picnic outside. I am told Taylor kept looking at the two of them like “really guys”. They also said they looked like a bunch of teenage kids, so Mary’s Aunt Courtney walked over and asked what they were talking about and Caleb said “fatness!” I believe I need to tell Caleb there are just some things we do not talk about with girls J

Yesterday they got to go to the fire station, I think at first they were all alittle taken back by everything that was there but I am told that soon after warmed up and then got to pretend they were driving the fire truck, spray the water hose (which I must say I am a bit jealous of this one J), play on the fire truck and took a tour around the fire station. Well being a firefighter for the day will build an appetite so we all went to Chicka-filay-a (that is how Caleb says it) for lunch. That lunch made my day wait make that my week! So thank you Nana for asking me to come!!

Mary Dogen is leaving to go back to Jackson today but I know that we will get to see her soon and I really do hope that they do get to grow up together alittle even if they are alittle bit apart. They are just so darn cute together. But that was most of my week and it has just been one great week! I hope you all have had a blessed week too!

JOY Story! VBS week

2010-07-08T10:01:00.014-05:00

Man what a great time we had a VBS this past week. Want to know what the theme to ours was…JOY STORY!! How awesome is that and our church staff came up with all of the material themselves, it was so awesome. We also did something different this year (I say we but really this was our first year) we had live music, my very talented hubby played the music on his guitar, he did an awesome job. A friend of mine at church named Shari and I were to come up with the moves for the songs and of course we gave ourselves plenty of time to come up with them, I think we started around the beginning of April well time got away from us, then she had to go out of town a couple of weeks for her work, so now it is the week before and I only have like one song down and it is the one that already has moves J ha. So Josh and I stayed up for most of the night Saturday and on Sunday night coming up with these moves for the songs, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how they came out! Now since you see I had Josh helping me you know there were a couple of moves that we just WAAAY too funny, but I enjoyed them all. We were under great leadership with our friend Melissa who led the music to the kids; God has blessed her with an amazing voice! I had a great time sitting in with the music and teaching the kids the motions. It just did my heart in when I would see my boys singing and doing the moves. Taylor is still going around singing some of the songs, he sounds so sweet!!

I really wish you all could have been there for our kick off day the Sunday before we began. Every year our staff does some kind of skit to get the kids pumped up for VBS and this year was so funny. Our youth pastor drew and painted these HUGE cardboard cuts of the characters on the stage and they were just awesome, God blessed him with the talent to draw. Well our pastor dressed up as Woody and it was funny to see a like 6’3 man dressed like a little cowboy! Our children’s pastor who came up with our theme and wrote the materials dressed up as Buzz, man that was some funny stuff. He showed the church that he was so mad dance skillsJ. Then our youth minister was Zurg and he made his costume himself and did a great job. Their skit was so funny and cute, I guess since it is men that were in it I should say it was umm funny that’s it funny.

Monday came and went along with the rest of the days. It was a lot of fun to be in there with all the kids not just a few kids that you have in your class. I loved getting to see Caleb and Taylor singing, just warmed this little mama’s heart! On Thursday night which we call Gospel night 2 children came forward to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior!! Can I get an AMEN, I have always wanted to say that. Friday was water day. Water Day is a huge day for the ending of VBS. They set up a big water slide down the side of the hill. But I think the adult girls had the most fun, we planned a sneak attack against some of the uh umm older men, and we succeeded. We poured buckets of ice water all over them. JThen I got caught off guard and bam I was hit with lots of water guns and balloons, then some of the teen girls poured a bucket of water right on top of me and it was cold! Well my little poesy ran off without me and ran through the church to the Jenny’s house (youth pastors wife), see they live in the church parking lot too EmilyJ.

The other girls thought they got off with no worries but Jenny came back into the church to put away the buckets we took and got stuck in the church. She kinda got tricked into coming out and when she did BAM! Hit with a 5 gallon bucket of ice water. Melissa too thought she got off scratch free but that was sooo not the case. When everyone had left it was our family, hers and a couple others that were left well a couple of youth boys and my hubby got the bright idea to get her at her house when she returned so she pulled in, opened the door and BAM! She was hit by her own son and umm my hubby.J So now the only girl left was my friend Maria. We had a Sunday School lunch that afternoon and we told her hubby to bring an extra set of clothes for her. So we got the youth boys together and they were waiting inside the fellowship hall and when she went to open the door to go in BAM! She was hit too! It was so much fun and so funny!!

We had a blast this VBS, not just me but I think my kids had a great time too! I can’t wait till next year to see what they have instore. So what is your JOY Story?

These are the bigger than life drawing/stage props Scott did!! Just amazing!

Josh leading the music, isn't he handsome ;)

WATER DAY!!!

Caleb was trying to sneak attack me :)

In better hands

2010-07-01T10:34:00.001-05:00

Let me just start this blog by saying we serve an faithful and mighty God!! I just want to give you all an update on Caleb. May of last year Caleb started having these random fevers(reaching as high as 104.something at times), then in July of last year they started coming once a month we noticed a lump about the size of a golf ball under his chin. Well at the present time we could not really go to a specialist because we did not have insurance. We heard about this program in MS that would help you with medical insurance if you qualified. Well we did indeed qualify and come to find out alittle later we actually had full on Medicaid and did not have to pay for a single thing that Caleb had to go through this year. Where some people might be ashamed to say they had Medicaid, I am just thanking the Lord that we did and I do know it was his plan for it to happen that way because Caleb went through some rough patches and we did not have to go deeper into debt because of it. I just find that so awesome! Ok sorry got a bit off track, so we took Caleb to a ENT and said that is was some kind of non-cancerous tumor and needed to be removed….(insert sobbing mother) So in January of 2010 Caleb had his first surgery and had his lump removed. So we thought this would take care of the fevers he had been having but he continued to have fevers so I took him to his doctor and she ran some blood work and one of his test came back abnormal, she thought he could have rheumatoid arthritis. My heart just broke and I just kept thinking what next, what could happen to him next(note to self not a good thing to ask) So in May I sat at work and was reminded of times where God just brought Caleb through many things and will do it again. I checked out for lunch and then received a phone call that Caleb had cut his face open and for those who read that blog, I was surprisingly not worried because of the things God reminded me of that morning. Well Caleb got a plastic surgeon to stitch his little face up and his face his healing up great! Oh and that would be surgery 2 we would have had to pay for but God had a plan!! Well at the beginning of June he got referred to a pediatric rheumatoid specialist. And I am so beside myself to tell you that his test came back normal and he had not had a fever since April. I just love the times shows himself directly because his stubborn children (me J) forget how great He is! Thank you all who prayed for my little man, we felt every one of them. When I think of this chapter of our lives I am reminded of a song I love by Natalie Grant, “I’m in better hands now” ~~ “There is hope when my faith runs out cause I'm in better hands now” I heard this song on the way home from work yesterday and just started crying funny how God will place something even like a song to make Himself known, I just love that! Well you also said something that seems to fit for the end of this blog…God will always get the last word!!

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this~~~Psalm 37:5

Billy the Bee

2010-06-11T12:19:00.010-05:00

(I wanted this in color but the file was too big :P, I also wanted some others but again were too big :) )

Man you look at that picture above and you might think that everything looks peachy keen. Well I not trying to brag but I will brag about what God has done with my family. Remember that God’s glory will always shine!!

See about 8 years ago our family was torn apart and from the outside you would think that there was no way to repair it, but that is where you never say never when God is in control. At one point I really thought like Naomi did when she said the Lord as dealt bitterly with me. Little did I know what He had in store. He worked through my bitter heart and a lot changed for me at a Life Action Revival and our speaker was talking about when people squeeze you what comes out and what would you like to see come out! Man I was like I do not want people to see nastiness coming from me and I prayed and prayed for my bitterness to be taken away and over time it became easier and easier. Now my family is on a road if you asked me 8 years ago if we would be on that road I would tell you there is no way.

Josh(he is an amazing storyteller J) told the kids a story before bed the other night about a bee name Billy, so he was named Billy the Bee and he had gotten lost from his beehive and it was becoming dark and he was afraid that he would not be able to find his way home. So he stopped and prayed asking God to help him find his way home. So God lit one flower and Billy hopped on, then God lit another and another. Billy had hopped on a dozen flowers and said God I am tired and just want to get home, and about that time he looked up and saw a light to a house and the light of that house lit up his beehive. Funny how a story my husband told our kids encouraged me! See too often I feel as if I stay on a flower and just tell God I am too tired and miss out on all the growth and blessing He supplies to me along the way. So I love looking at my picture above because we still have many miles to travel but God is in control and I think I will be a Billy the Bee J

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ~~Romans 5:1-3

This could be a birthday to remember

2010-05-20T09:49:00.003-05:00

Wow doesn’t that old tune just bring back old memories! Ok, Ok, yes,yes I know it is suppose to be A Christmas to remember but I thought that fit much better for me J

I was not sure what I was going to think of this birthday because this was the first one I have spent away from my family. And in my family birthdays are HUGE!! Don’t know why but they just have always been. I think that is why I try to come up with these huge party ideas for my boys!! Some years I think about how I would love to throw a big fun party for either me or Josh but just never do it! Anyways sorry to get off track. It turned out that I had one of the best birthdays. Tuesday of my birthday I woke up to my hubby making me breakfast and an awesome card from him, he knows how much cards mean to me! Then off to work but then I got to have lunch with three of the most handsome men I know J Caleb told me "Mommy we can go eat wherever you want but I think Chicka-fil-a would be a great choice" J So we went to Chick-fil-a and it was just so nice to have lunch with my family, have not had that in a very long time and I treasured every minute of it! Well when I got home that night I walked into the kitchen to see two men standing there scratching their heads and looking at a cake mix box, I must say I was a tad bit nervous of the outcome of this cake and asked if they wanted me to just go ahead and make the cake. They shooed me away and told me they had this all under control. About 20 minutes later we got called down for dinner. Pop had made his famous lasagna but there was something very special about this lasagna it had my name written in noodles, how many people can say that they had their name written in noodles on a lasagna J So now came the time to blow out the candles and have some cake, now remember how I said that the last time I saw the cake mix box and the men, they were scratching their heads. So can you blame me that I was just a hair hesitant to try a piece. Well I braved it and took a bite and it was actually really yummy, they then preceded to tell me that I probably should not ask what was in it……umm what? I just took a bite of the yummy cake and now you want to tell me that. Well what had happened is that we umm ran out of oil so Pop looked in the pantry to see what we had, we had some shortening so he melted it and used that for oil. Kinda smart and that was actually not to bad to be what was in it. I was really afraid yall at what might be in there since they know how picky I am J That was such a great birthday, loved every minute of it!

Well then on Saturday I got to have my birthday gift and my Mother’s Day gift. I got to spend my morning with a really great friend and we got to have facials!! Can you say AWESOME!!! It was so nice to just relax and not have a care in the world, kinda takes you to those calgon commercials when you wish that calgon would take you away, well I was away…far away! We then headed out for some lunch and to do what girls do best…SHOP!!! Oh can I just tell you here that since we had a facial we were not aloud to wear make-up for a couple of hours, WHOA I apologize to anyone who may have saw me, which I guess without my face on you probably did not recognize who I was, I will look at that as a blessing J Well in true girl fashion we got back just in time to put on our faces and touch up our hair a bit and then it was time to leave. And then we headed off to Memphis to go have dinner at the Melting Pot!! It was so yummy and we had so much fun. It has been a long time since me and Josh have had that much fun. Oh I do have to say that I tried a nibble of a strawberry with chocolate, Josh won't say that I actually tried it cause I did not eat a whole strawberry but I consider this to be a huge success and milestone. It only took 27 years :)

I have felt so loved this birthday and am so thankful for all the cards, messages and messages on FB. This has been a birthday to remember J

2010-05-05T10:26:00.001-05:00

Emily at Speaking the Truth in Love and Laughter tagged me in a fun little game. I am guessing in hopes of learning something new and just wonderful about me J If anyone else would like to play along you can leave some in the comments box, I would love to hear some answers!!

Three names I go by:

1. Amber

2. Mommy

3. Amber Q

The jobs I have had:

1. first job was at Winn-Dixie

2. teller and then work in accounting at PEFCU(Panhandle Eductators Federal Credit Union.

3. Current job is Head Teller at Southbank, hopefully not for too long J

Three places I have lived:

1. Panama City, FL.

2. Abbeville, MS

3. can I count the 18 houses/apartments I lived in before I got married J

Three fave drinks:

1. COKE!!!

2. sunkist

3. Smart Water (I promise it tastes better than any other water!)- Emily I am so with you on this one J

Three TV shows I watch:

1. Lost

2. Days of our Lives, yes I am one of those soapies J

3. The Biggest Loser, it makes me cry every week!!

Three places I have been:

1. Disneyworld!! LOVE this place

2. Las Vegas, NV

3. Mexico

Three places I would like to visit:

Ireland

2. Italy-have to see my sissy, I am thinking of having a fundraiser, anyone want to donate, just kidding J

3. anywhere tropical

Three fave retro TV shows:

1. Loved the Dick Van Dyke Show, weird I know

2. Saved by the Bell

3. Can I pick the old Let’s make a deal

J Three fave dishes:

1. Cheesy Garlic Chicken (you know something with garlic had to come up)

2. my mama’s lasagna

3. any kind of breakfast casserole

Three things I am looking forward to:

1. being able to stay at home with my boys again!

2. to maybe being called Auntie Am one day

3. A date night with my hubby Friday night. The WHOLE night!!!!- up Emily I think I am with you on this again!

Three bloggy friends I am tagging:

1. Well I am such the loser that I only have two people J

2. Patti @ Ain’t Life Grand

3. And my awesome hubby @ Excellence in Mediocrity

There is a time to let it go

2010-04-29T22:35:00.002-05:00

So yesterday was kinda like any other day, sitting at work thinking about my boys. Well I was inspired to write a blog about how far God has brought me with the trust issues I had when I had given birth to Caleb. See let me start this off with saying when Caleb was first born I was so happy God had blessed us with a child but then when Caleb was born I got scared, and that May was baby dedication and I was not sure I wanted to go through with it. See baby dedication for me was not just about bringing up my child to grow such love and faith in God, it was about turning him back over to the creator who created him. And quite frankly that thought scared me, even though in my heart I knew he was already His, I just did not turn my full heart over to Him. Well I think it was the Friday before baby dedication and I was driving home and felt like 50 tons of weight was just lifted off my shoulders and I knew that I was now at peace and ready to dedicate Caleb to the Lord!

So I tell you all of this because I had started writing my blog about how far He brought me and has showed Himself so glorious through a lot of situations that Caleb has been through and God has always reassured me that He was in control! Well I took a break and that is when I got this phone call from Josh’s dad. He had told me in a very calm voice that Caleb had cut his cheek on a piece of metal tin roofing and Nana had rushed him to the ER. I tried not to get too panicked because I did not know how bad it really was. Well I had that peace that God was taking care of everything and that I was inspired by all of those things I wrote up top about because He wanted to remind me of how much in control of all the situations and that He was in control of this one as well, and was holding tight onto my little man. Is that not just amazing what God can show and do for us!

Ok so now I am going to brag alittle bit about Caleb, yes I know me brag…never J Well right after Caleb had ran into the roofing he came running to the back door, holding his cheek and crying. Taylor answered the door and as soon as Caleb walked in Pop saw that he was bleeding and about that time Nana walked in and saw what had happened to his face and scooped him up in true mother form J and took him to the back and put a towel on his face and had him sit in the chair to get the truck ready. Well by the time he got to the chair he had already stopped crying and did not cry really at all since then. Well being that Nana is a mother did not spare any red lights and rushed to the hospital, she even told me that Caleb got onto her for running one of the red lights J When we arrived at the hospital they took him back fairly quickly and then it was just a waiting game. They started to prep him for the plastic surgeon to come and stitch him up, now how is it that my 4 year old son got to see a plastic surgeon before I did, just kidding J And they had to take the bandage off his face and that was the first time he actually started to cry a bit! That was also where I saw how bad the cut was, if you can even call it that (yeah it was that bad!!) and there I kinda went into panic mode and started to shake A LOT! So I started to do my Lamaze breathing exercises (oh now they came in handyJ) and calmed myself down abit. They came in with the stuff to put an IV in and the first time he cried for a minute but the second one they put in he just sat there and watched them!! and did not cry at all. He had all the nurses amazed throughout our time there, several nurses would come in to see him and said what an inspiration he was because he was so calm and did not cry! That will make a mama proud! Now there were about to put in the medicine to make him loopy, I think they called it truth serum(it had some fancy name but I do not remember that one) and said that he will say some crazy things and not remember it. And that was so the case at one point he told Josh that he was Jesus, told Josh he had green teeth and should brush them like he brushes his, and that he had three eyes. Made us tickle! Caleb is an awful lot like his daddy and is very curious and he kept trying to watch what the doctor was doing to his face, the doctor was just so patient with him and would chuckle at him being so curious. Oh I need to say this real quick, Josh in true Josh form manages to always find a way to put a smile on everyone’s face and makes sure I am mortified passed gas halfway through the surgery. Man I love that man J Soon after his doctor finished Caleb had a visitor from someone he knew, it was Bro. James, he came to check on him and prayed with us before we left. Want to hear something awesome the nurse in the room with us stood with us held Caleb’s hand and prayed with us!! God is just such an awesome God!! Well we my little moneymaker face all fix up and by this time it was 8:30 and Caleb was very hungry, poor thing had not had lunch nor dinner yet. So we went to Chica-fila-a and he ate all of his nuggets, fries and some ice cream and the last part of his daddy’s!! We went home and tried to put some minds at ease, and had just wish that Taylor was awake to see his bubba, because he was worried about him all day and asked about him a lot! We are so thankful for the people in our life. Josh’s mom did a great job of taking care of my little man and holding things together, Pop took great care of Taylor while we were at the hospital, for my mom and dad who I know were lifting him up in prayers. And for our awesome church family who said a special prayer for him last night before supper. Now I have to put my faith in God as Caleb will have to have some more blood test ran to find the cause of the fevers he has been getting at least every 3 weeks. So if you could please continue to lift him in your prayers, as we seek a specialist in Memphis. One thing is for sure I know he is in the hands of the greatest physician!!

"This is taking WAY to long"

2010-04-23T09:18:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to share alittle about my week/end, share a couple of stories. I got to go visit my hometown, now I used to actually say my home instead of hometown and sometimes I slip and say it but before it was because that is where my heart still was. Well the Lord got a hold of my heart and made me realize that my home is wherever my husband and kids are and I don’t mind too much where that is as long as I have them.

Ok so sorry about that back to my trip. We started our trip on Sat. and as any of you know that kids don’t like to be in the car for too long, what does that really shock you J Well Caleb is my really good traveler but now he inquires about how much longer it might be till we get to where we are going. Well we were about in Ozark and

Caleb asked “Mommy can we just turn around and go home?”

I said “Don’t you want to go to Disneyworld?”

“Well I do mommy but this is just taking WAAAYYY too long!” J

Man Josh’s mom and I laughed and laughed. Well God challenged me to think about the very same pharse that Caleb had asked me about how much longer it might take and I am so thankful that my boys challenge me to think about my relationship with God. And I thought about how many times I ask “how much longer till we get there” and Him saying to me “Don’t you want the blessings I have for you along the way” or “Just be patient I have something planned” and me being that stubborn little child of His and say “this is just taking WAY to long Lord” All I can say was WHOA! In my life there are far too many instances that I do that God has already told me in Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I can tell you that this is applying to my life right now and with our house, but I have gotten such a peace about it and I hope I can continue to have that peace in Him that I know he supplies!

Well since we are on the subject of driving let me tell you what else that little stinker said about me. First let me tell you that I did get alittle turned around when coming back home twice, the last one being at night. (Please keep all laughter in a minimumJ) So on Wed. night before they went to bed they said alittle prayer for me to drive home safely. On Thursday morning Josh’s mom told Caleb that I had made it home safely and Caleb responded “So my mommy got lost didn’t she?” Josh mom a bit confused said “why yes Caleb she did” he responded by saying “yeah mommy gets lost when she drives at night” J

Alittle about my trip and weekend after my trip was really great. I got to spend almost the entire Sunday afternoon with my parents and I have not got to do that in a really long time, it was much needed. I really enjoyed my visit with my sissy it was just good to spend quality time together and not have to be rushed to do anything and we got to catch on A LOT of things that sometimes you just can’t get across over the phone. On one funny thing that happened we were at Hobby Lobby and she saw her friends’ mom and they got to talk and catch up and then she (the mom) looked over at me and said “Is this your mom”. All I could do was laugh that was just so funny to me. I felt so honored that she would think that I might look anything like Leah to be her mom J I got to go and be with her family while they had some pictures taken and I had such a great time. They are such an awesome family and always make me feel just like one of them.

I must say that one of my favorite parts of that week was that I got to come home and spend some wonderful one on one time with my hubby. I can not remember the last time I got to spend that much time with just him, no kids for a couple of days. I mean we really missed our kids but we also really loved the time we got to spend and reconnect with each other. I appreciate so much what Josh does for our family and we don’t get to talk about it with kids grabbing for our attention (which we don’t mind at all). We got to go on a couple of really awesome dates. Our time just made love him just that much more J

The kids had a really great time at Disney. Caleb actually could ride almost all the rides they went on. Taylor wasn’t quite tall enough yet but he just enjoyed being there. From what I hear their favorite day was the Magic Kingdom, there was so much for them to do there. They really both enjoyed getting to know their cousins and just spending time with their family. Josh’s mom said their favorite part was probably the pool, is that not how it usually works they like the part that is not even part of what you went to do, but as long as they had fun right? J I can't wait till we will be able to take them down there and we can all be able to have that much fun together as a family! We are so glad the boys are back, the house was just too quiet without them in it and they came back in full force and I would not have it any other way!

Say alittle prayer

2010-03-30T09:54:00.003-05:00

You know that some of the best prayers are the ones that come from the heart. Hearing a child pray puts so much JOY in my heart, hearing my boys pray makes that JOY so much more . Well Caleb usually prays for our food at any meal time, well a couple of weeks ago Taylor got into praying, and it doesn't have a lot of words to it but it does have an AMEN at the end. Well we were at dinner and Taylor wanted to say the prayer so his little prayer went like this "ank you esus, food…something…something, cow poop AMEN!!! I asked did he really just pray for cow poop, then Josh’s mom brought to our attention that she had cooked that night and wondered if that was meant for her food J It is the small prayers that mean so much J Last night was another night that just made my heart melt. Caleb was saying the prayer and usually he just says “Thank you Jesus for our food, Amen”. Which is fine because he is praying, but I won’t lie and say there are not days that I didn't wish that he would just bust out in prayer. Well last night was his night he prayed “Thank you Jesus for this beautiful day, thank you for letting mommy and daddy have a good day, thank you for our food, and thank you for mommy and daddy getting home safely, Amen” Yep that did it, I teared up at the table, that prayer was so heart felt made this mama feel so joyous inside. Well Taylor now copies EVERYTHING Caleb does now, so he wanted to pray next, his went alittle like this(note I can not make all the jibberish sounds he makes nor am I able to write them J) "Jibber, jibber esus, jibber, jibber mommy, daddy. AMEN!! Moments like this let me reflect in my own prayer life to see if I am praying for the “little” things just like my boys seem to see that is really important to them.

~~In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy~~Philippians 1:4

Reality check

2010-03-24T11:00:00.003-05:00

Have you ever felt like you really just need to be slapped into reality sometimes! Well let me tell you today I feel like it is what I needed and it is just what happened! I occasionally I go to this site proverbs31.org to read and offer me some encouragement throughout my day! Well like I said I don’t go all the time but I did this morning and the devotion was what I needed to really hear! All I could say is WOAH!! How true I find that in my own life right now, I feel (now please see that I am saying I feel) like I have gotten pretty good in the ministry God has placed me in but just like she said I feel like I need to be patted on the back every now and then sometimes I did not ask for God to be there! How horrible does that sound! Well my really big insecurity I have is with me and Facebook and even this blog. I would just want someone to say how much they loved or miss me, or that my writing just really touched them or to comment on my pictures that I post of my super adorable kids (I mean really how could you not J). How selfish and self absorbed is that. I felt so ashamed with how I felt after reading that devotional this morning, but there is one thing that helps me bring my head back up and that is turning to my Savior the one who I should have turned to all along, He is one who always leaves comments for me and tells me He loves me and that the serving I do is for Him and that is all I should need and if someone just happens to say your doing a great job, say thank you and don’t fret about the next person who comes along. He also showed me that what I have really been feeling is loneliness I have pushed him around by things…by people, and I wonder why I feel so lonely. He wants to be first and He needs to be first in my life and I find that when I allow that to happen I am fill with such JOY and I don’t feel empty. Funny what alittle slap in the face can do J But let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.~~Jeremiah 9:24

The Mini Adventures of Caleb the brave

2010-03-01T09:50:00.000-06:00

Deep in the woods of Eegeebeegee there lived a boy named Caleb, he lived under the name Gregory well because that was his parents’ name. One sunny yet chilly afternoon Caleb decided that he was going to go on alittle adventure some may think he would take his mother along but not today, today he decided to take this one on his own. So he went down the stairs sat on the bottom stair and put on his shoes and opened the door and started his long adventure into the Eegeebeegee woods. He saw some truck tracks and thought that they may lead to where he was wanting to go, which was to where his daddy, Pop and Uncle were. And they were down into the woods quite a ways building a bridge of sorts across Caleb’s Crossing. So along trucked Caleb quite a brave little guy enjoy the sun on his face, the chill in the air, the birds singing until he looked down and noticed that the tracks were no longer there. Well he did what any little adventure boy would do in the woods… he hollered for his daddy. Luckily for him his daddy was near by to hear him and went and scooped him up. Well he joined Pop and Uncle, and Pop asked the little fellow how he had gotten down there he said I followed the truck tracks but I put my shoes on the right feet!! He was such a proud little boy not for taking on such a journey into some woods but for putting his shoes on the right feet :0) I love that boy!

My heart hurts

2010-02-18T12:18:00.003-06:00

When my brother was younger, around 6 or 7, he started saying that his heart hurt, there was a pain in his chest. So after many doctors visits and scans of some sort, we found out that it was just him growing, a growth spurt. Well now my heart hurts, but it does hurt like his did, I think mine is because I am “growing” spiritually and sometimes that hurts. Not because of what God is doing (because that has been awesome) but because of what I have done or how I am feeling. Have you ever just felt torn about how you should feel…Be strong, God wants us to be strong, it is ok to cry, don’t let things get to you, be sensitive, the list could go on! But sometimes I just want to go AHHH!!!! I don’t how I should feel right now, and that just makes my heart hurt. But on my way to work today me and God were having our usual morning talk and I was talking to Him about all of my feelings and I would just like to share a few things I feel like He told me about all the things I am feeling. Be strong- The LORD is my strength and my song~~ Exodus 15:2a I know that I don’t have to always be strong, lets face it I can’t be strong all the time but I do know that the Lord gives me my strength and when I think I can’t keep going, He always provides a way for me to find strength…it is called prayer. In Matthew 14:23 Jesus was done with the day and went to the mountain to pray. Jesus had just dealt with His dear friend John the Baptist being beheaded, healed the sick, and fed the 5000(men, not including the women and children) so I think He needed some strength and guidance which is why He went to pray. That is where I should be, I need strength and guidance and I am only going to get that from one, My Lord. Now I don’t think that it is the amount of time I spend with Him but what I discover while I am there with Him. It is ok to cry-The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer~~Psalm 6:9 Boy am I glad that someone will always listen to my cries, cause I tend to do that quite often. And here it says that He hears my cries. I feel fortunate to have a loving…patient husband who listens to me when I need someone to talk to but God is always listening to me waiting for me to cry out for Him. Be sensitive- Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience~~Colossians 3:12 I think we should keep our ears open to those who need to share and who need comfort, whether they know God are not. And to show compassion to those who are in need, cause there may come a time when I will need someone to be sensitive and have compassion for me. One of my favorite songs right now is by JJ Heller called “Your hands”, the chorus says “When my world is shaking, heaven stands, When my heart is breaking I never leave your hands.” Man those words just about bring me to tears, who am I kidding they do bring me to tears, cause I need to tell myself quite often how Heaven will always stand no matter what is going on in my world and how I need my Lord when my heart breaks and how He will hold my hand through everything! Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before~~Philippians 3:13 I really do not have anything to go with this verse but am thinking that this is really what I should aim for not to let the things that are behind me hinder me from attaining the joy that God has for before me! Don’t give up-Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up~~Galations 6:9 What is kinda funny about this verse is because the next verse is one of my favorite verses talking about when we have opportunity we should do good, well this past Sunday at church our pastor was talking about verse 9 and how even though we are going through tough times we should never give up. I had actually told my husband that I was not giving up I was just simply sitting on the bench, you know a benchwarmer. So God has really convicted me of that so now I am back in the game, so to speak. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.~~Romans 15:13

you like me you really like me!

2010-02-16T12:26:00.010-06:00

Words really can not express how grateful I am that Emily would think that I deserve this award. It tickles me pink :) She is actually one of the people who inspired me to start my own along with my wonderful hubby! Here is a link to her blog at Speaking the Truth in Love and Laughter she is a gifted writer, God has really blessed her with that gift and she uses it! I am so thankful for my Lord who is the true inspiration behind all my writings and has been the one to hold my hand through these past 7 months, and to my husband who truly encourages me to be a better wife, mother and a child of God! I also thank my wonderful pride and joys for they are the sunshine to the end of my days. Do I sound way to sappy yet, I could go on if you like :) The rules are that now I need to nominate other girlfriends who I feel deserve this same honor.Alright girls, if you haven’t won this award yet and should you choose to accept it, these are the instructions: - Put the Lemonade logo on your blog or within your post. - Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude or gratitude. - Link the nominees within your post. - Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog. - Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award. Well I tend to be a rule breaker at times and I have also nominated a man...gasp... One that I have nominated is a great mentor to me, she has gone through some tough times but still shows the love of Jesus. I really do not know Emily or Chuck who I also nominated but I have stumbled upon their blogs and I enjoy reading them and think you will also. Patti at Ain't Love Grand

Emily at Live, Laugh, Love

Carol Wilson Updates this blog was started by his wife who wrote about her journey through cancer, she was now went to be with our Father but her husband still write some amazing post that are truly encouraging! And just because I do love to read when he gets a chance to blog I want to plug in my husbands blog, he also has a great talent for writing and you should check out his past blogs here. Thank you all who read my blog on a few occasions :)

My superheros!

2010-01-22T10:34:00.006-06:00

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.~~Psalm 127:3(NAS) Man I love this verse, it is exactly how I feel about my kids, granted there are days that they do drive me crazy but I will take it. This past year I have come to realize that my boys are so strong, and as a mom you just want them to need you always. Which they will always need me but they are starting to separate alittle. Anyways I say all this cause I wanted to, well I guess you can say brag a bit about them and how well I believe they did when they both had to be admitted into the hospital this year! Taylor was admitted in May, he had pneumonia and we tried to take care of it at home but it just would not go away. So the doctor thought it would be best if we went ahead and admitted him. Man I so did not want to be there for when they put the IV in, so Josh was there and he went in for that. Well all was well, then it happened, the nurse walked in and said that they need more blood. I was like WHAT?? Umm can’t we wait till my hubby gets here, nope we need it now. Ok so I went in there after the nurse asked if I would prefer to wait outside, are you kidding, no I am not leaving my child but I guess she has to ask. But he did so well, they had to board his arm but he did not once try to yank his other arm that they were getting the blood from, I was so proud. I just kept thinking, man I can’t even do that! J Oh he was so funny because when we were going to the doctor’s office for like 3 days in a row, the nurse had to give him a shot of antibiotic and the next time we went in there, as soon as she walked in he would start crying, well he also did the same thing when we were at the hospital, if a nurse walked in to just check his vitals he would start tearing up and cry L Poor thing He also got me in trouble, he was really confined to his bed but when he actually started feeling better, he wanted to get down and walk around. Well this kinda made me nervous but I decided to give it a try, well I turned my back just to get a diaper and his IV thing starts beeping, I was like AHHH. He had pulled his IV out, not from his arm but where is was connected. The nurse came in and told me I needed to keep a better eye on him. I just looked at Taylor and said you got mommy in trouble! It was funny. He showed me so much strength at just 18 months old. Well now you all know that Caleb just recently had surgery and man was he such a testimony to me. When I really think about a strong and brave child, I really do think of him. When I got there he was sitting on the bed playing my DS, when all the people came in too explain what was going to happen Caleb never asked why he just said ok. Now some people may say that he just didn’t understand but I know he did, cause when we asked him what was going to happen he would tell us that they we going to cut that thing out of his throat. Well his doctor saw that he liked spiderman, heck I mean he had on a spiderman shirt, shoes and underwear J So he asked Caleb if he would like a web on his hand, so that it looked like he was shooting it out. Caleb just loved that. Well instead of wheeling him out on the bed into surgery, Dr.Dye actually picked him up and carried him back there, man did that put my mind at ease. All the nurses talked about what a great boy he was and how well he did. We went and waited in his room and they wheeled him in, he was alittle disoriented at first and kinda stayed in a fog all day. He had a few visitors, ate alittle. He was funny actually, he got a toy from his happy meal and it was one of the chipmunks and when you pressed his head it would say something. Well Caleb who always tries to make sure we are smiling kept pressing it to make us laugh! Well then it was time for bed and Caleb had figured out how to change the channels on the TV and was flipping through them and found a football game, Caleb said ohh football and yall we watched football for an hour! Well I told Caleb I was going to bed and he wanted me to sleep in the bed with him, and I was happy to do that. So I turned over and I felt this scratch on my back, I turned around and it was Caleb scratching my back, he said “mommy you had a rough day” I said “I had a rough day, you had the rough day”. But that made me feel special beyond words! Oh I also wanted to tell you the story we told Caleb to make his trip kinda like an adventure. We said that he was going to stay at a castle (hospital) and that sometime ago he had swallowed a poisonous apple (his cyst) and that it was going to put him into a deep sleep and prince Dye (his doctor) was going to cut it out, then a princess (yep that’s me J) would come give him a kiss to wake him up. He loved that, it kinda helped him out a bit! Well my superheros save me just about everyday when I come home from a hard day of work without them, they come to me with hugs and kisses!

More pictures through this year :)

2009-12-28T10:16:00.012-06:00

I could not fit all the pictures I wanted to, to show some stuff through this past year here are a umm few more :)